SIM swap fraud drained an estimated KES 491.6 million (about USD 3.8 million) from Kenyan mobile wallets in 2025, according to INTERPOL’s African Cyberthreat Assessment Report 2026, as reported by Tech-ish. Cases rose 327%, and more than 123,000 fraudulent SIM cards were issued.

Why one-time codes don’t stop it

In a mobile money market, the phone number is the account. Once an attacker moves a victim’s number to a SIM they control, every PIN reset, one-time code and confirmation SMS goes to them. The code is delivered correctly, just to the wrong person.

The operator, however, records every SIM change against the number. That record is the signal the wallet or bank is missing.

How PAiCore closes the gap

PAiCore’s Network API Gateway now serves CAMARA SIM Swap 2.1.0, the GSMA Open Gateway standard, with two operations:

• retrieve-date returns when the SIM behind a number last changed, in UTC, with the operator’s monitored period when it reports one.
• check answers true or false: did the SIM change within maxAge hours (1 to 2,400, default 240)?

A recent change becomes a reason to step up verification or pause the transaction, instead of a silent account takeover.

Built for real operator networks

• Any BSS, no code per operator. Operator connectors describe how to call each operator’s BSS REST API, whatever its authentication (API key, Basic, OAuth2, mutual TLS), request shape or date format. Prefix routing lets one gateway serve several operators.
• Changes without downtime. Connectors are registered, tested and enabled in the Admin Console, and the gateway applies changes within 30 seconds, without a restart.
• Purpose-bound access. Clients are registered for fraud prevention, with a separate scope per operation and a choice of two-legged or CIBA three-legged flows.
• Clear answers. An unavailable or slow operator returns 503 or 504, never a false “no swap”.
• Secure and auditable. Credentials are encrypted, every configuration change is audited, and every request is recorded with its correlator.
• Ready to sell. Subscriptions, rate-limit tiers and usage records are built in, so operators and aggregators can bill from day one.

Who it is for, and where to place the check

• Aggregators and CPaaS providers. Run a SIM Swap check before every OTP you deliver, and sell it as a premium layer on the SMS you already send.
• Operators. Launch a GSMA Open Gateway product on the BSS you already run, with onboarding, rate limits, usage records and billing included.
• Banks and fintechs. Check before sending an OTP to a new device, before a password or PIN reset, before adding a payee and before a high-value transfer.
• Crypto exchanges and wallets. Hold withdrawals or require extra verification when the SIM changed in the last few days.
• Marketplaces, delivery and ride-hailing apps. Protect account recovery and payout changes, the two moments takeovers aim for.

Explore the PAiCore Network API Gateway or talk to our team about bringing SIM Swap to your network or your risk flows.

Source: Tech-ish, “Kenyans lost KES 491.6 million to SIM swap fraud in 2025, INTERPOL report says”