Police nab man over K100 million theft through SIM Card Swap
Police in Lilongwe have cracked a fraud case, uncovering a complex web that led to theft of over 100 million Kwacha from various bank accounts through a sophisticated SIM Card swapping scheme.
National Bank of Malawi customers were the ones targeted in the scheme which involved swapping TNM contact numbers linked to a specific mobile device on MO626 which allowed criminals to access and transfer funds.
Lingadzi Police Station Publicist, Sergeant Cassim Manda, says the first reported incident occurred on June 15, 2014 when UK-based IT specialist Ted Kaliyapa discovered that K14, 259,731.00 had been stolen from his business and personal accounts.
“Investigations by Lingadzi Police detective team revealed that the TNM number was swapped on July 11, 2024 and was used to transfer funds to different bank accounts, Mpamba and Airtel money accounts between July 14 and 15, 2024.
“Call logs showed that the criminals used cellular network towers within Lilongwe district, leading to the arrest of 31-year-old IT expert Leticia Fegason Mafikeni and her 29-year-old brother Grecian Kazonga at Mswati Village and Area 49 Dubai, respectively,” explained Sergeant Manda.
According to Sergeant Manda, the two criminals admitted having committed the offence jointly with an unknown accomplice and their arrest has also helped to solve similar cases reported in Mzuzu and Lilongwe police stations involving theft of K79 million and K10,230,000.00, respectively.
The two suspects were found with password-cracking tools which they were using to swap SIM cards. It is alleged that the suspects randomly selected phone numbers, and when they found accounts with large amounts of money, they were transferring funds.
Officers at Lingadzi Police Station are working tirelessly to recover the stolen funds but so far, no recoveries have been made.
Leticia Mafikeni and Grecian Kazonga will appear in court once investigations are complete.
