{"id":18819,"date":"2026-10-28T09:09:20","date_gmt":"2026-10-28T09:09:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/paicore.tech\/?p=18819"},"modified":"2026-10-28T09:22:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T09:22:09","slug":"kenya-lost-kes-491-6-million-to-sim-swaps-in-2025-the-network-already-knew","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paicore.tech\/news\/kenya-lost-kes-491-6-million-to-sim-swaps-in-2025-the-network-already-knew\/","title":{"rendered":"Kenya Lost KES 491.6 Million to SIM Swaps in 2025. The Network Already Knew."},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"18819\" class=\"elementor elementor-18819\" data-elementor-settings=\"{&quot;ha_cmc_init_switcher&quot;:&quot;no&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-745e675 elementor-section-height-min-height elementor-section-stretched elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-items-middle elementor-invisible\" data-id=\"745e675\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;,&quot;animation&quot;:&quot;fadeIn&quot;,&quot;stretch_section&quot;:&quot;section-stretched&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-no\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-515aca7\" data-id=\"515aca7\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f8d147b elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"f8d147b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-706c8cf elementor-widget elementor-widget-theme-post-title elementor-page-title elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"706c8cf\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"theme-post-title.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Kenya Lost KES 491.6 Million to SIM Swaps in 2025. The Network Already Knew.<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8fa0d18 elementor-align-center elementor-widget elementor-widget-post-info\" data-id=\"8fa0d18\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"post-info.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"elementor-inline-items elementor-icon-list-items elementor-post-info\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item elementor-repeater-item-f8d7736 elementor-inline-item\" itemprop=\"datePublished\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-text elementor-post-info__item elementor-post-info__item--type-date\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOctober 28, 2026\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-159eff6 elementor-widget elementor-widget-shortcode\" data-id=\"159eff6\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"shortcode.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-shortcode\"><p style=\"color: #fff !important; text-align: center;\"><span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\"><\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 3<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">min read<\/span><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-17beabb elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"17beabb\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-9634c7a elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"9634c7a\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-b986b16\" data-id=\"b986b16\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b1fb0ab elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"b1fb0ab\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7f200e7 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"7f200e7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SIM swap fraud drained an estimated KES 491.6 million (about USD 3.8 million) from Kenyan mobile wallets in 2025, according to INTERPOL&#8217;s African Cyberthreat Assessment Report 2026, as reported by<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/tech-ish.com\/?p=79743\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tech-ish<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Cases rose 327%, and more than 123,000 fraudulent SIM cards were issued.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Why one-time codes don&#8217;t stop it<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In a mobile money market, the phone number is the account. Once an attacker moves a victim&#8217;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.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The operator, however, records every SIM change against the number. That record is the signal the wallet or bank is missing.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>How PAiCore closes the gap<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">PAiCore&#8217;s<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/paicore.tech\/platforms\/network-api\/network-api-gw\/\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Network API Gateway<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> now serves CAMARA SIM Swap 2.1.0, the GSMA Open Gateway standard, with two operations:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>retrieve-date<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> returns when the SIM behind a number last changed, in UTC, with the operator&#8217;s monitored period when it reports one.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>check<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> answers true or false: did the SIM change within <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">maxAge<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> hours (1 to 2,400, default 240)?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A recent change becomes a reason to step up verification or pause the transaction, instead of a silent account takeover.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Built for real operator networks<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Any BSS, no code per operator.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Operator connectors describe how to call each operator&#8217;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.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Changes without downtime.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Connectors are registered, tested and enabled in the Admin Console, and the gateway applies changes within 30 seconds, without a restart.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Purpose-bound access.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Clients are registered for fraud prevention, with a separate scope per operation and a choice of two-legged or CIBA three-legged flows.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Clear answers.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> An unavailable or slow operator returns <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">503<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">504<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, never a false &#8220;no swap&#8221;.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Secure and auditable.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Credentials are encrypted, every configuration change is audited, and every request is recorded with its correlator.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Ready to sell.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Subscriptions, rate-limit tiers and usage records are built in, so operators and aggregators can bill from day one.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Who it is for, and where to place the check<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Aggregators and CPaaS providers.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Run a SIM Swap check before every OTP you deliver, and sell it as a premium layer on the SMS you already send.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Operators.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Launch a GSMA Open Gateway product on the BSS you already run, with onboarding, rate limits, usage records and billing included.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Banks and fintechs.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 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.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Crypto exchanges and wallets.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Hold withdrawals or require extra verification when the SIM changed in the last few days.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Marketplaces, delivery and ride-hailing apps.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Protect account recovery and payout changes, the two moments takeovers aim for.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Explore the<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/paicore.tech\/platforms\/network-api\/network-api-gw\/\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">PAiCore Network API Gateway<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/paicore.tech\/contact\/\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">talk to our team<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> about bringing SIM Swap to your network or your risk flows.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Source:<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/tech-ish.com\/?p=79743\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tech-ish, &#8220;Kenyans lost KES 491.6 million to SIM swap fraud in 2025, INTERPOL report says&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f85f1e2 elementor-widget-divider--view-line elementor-widget elementor-widget-divider\" data-id=\"f85f1e2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"divider.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-divider\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-divider-separator\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0173147 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"0173147\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-dd0cc70 elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"dd0cc70\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-53a6b8e elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"53a6b8e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Interested&#8230;?<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e997386 elementor-align-center elementor-widget elementor-widget-button\" data-id=\"e997386\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-button elementor-button-link elementor-size-sm\" href=\"https:\/\/paicore.tech\/contact\/\" target=\"_blank\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-content-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-text\">Let's Talk<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ebfaa6b elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"ebfaa6b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kenya lost an estimated KES 491.6 million to SIM swap fraud in 2025. Discover how PAiCore\u2019s Network API Gateway uses the CAMARA SIM Swap API to help businesses identify SIM changes and strengthen fraud prevention.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18822,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[113,104,52,112],"class_list":["post-18819","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-camara-sim-swap","tag-network-api-gateway","tag-otp","tag-sim-swap"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paicore.tech\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18819","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paicore.tech\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paicore.tech\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paicore.tech\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paicore.tech\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18819"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/paicore.tech\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18819\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18839,"href":"https:\/\/paicore.tech\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18819\/revisions\/18839"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paicore.tech\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/18822"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paicore.tech\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paicore.tech\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18819"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paicore.tech\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}