How to protect your mobile money account from SIM swap fraud

SIM swap fraud lets a thief move your phone number onto a SIM card they control. Once they hold your number, your one-time codes go to them, and a mobile money wallet can be emptied in minutes. In Kenya, SIM swap fraud rose 327% in 2025, with more than 123,000 fraudulent SIM cards issued and an estimated $3.8 million drained from mobile wallets, according to INTERPOL’s African Cyberthreat Assessment Report 2026. Here is how the trick works, the signs to watch for, and the settings that make you a much harder target.

How SIM swap fraud works

Your mobile money account trusts your phone number. When you reset a PIN, log in to a banking app or approve a payment, the code usually arrives by text. SIM swap fraud attacks that trust.

The thief gathers your personal details first: your full name, date of birth and ID number, often from social media posts, a leaked form or a phone call where they pretend to be from your network. Then they get a new SIM card issued for your number, either by fooling a shop or agent or with help from someone inside. Safaricom describes fraudsters “registering an existing number on a new SIM card” so they can catch one-time passwords, get into online banking and change your security settings.

In plain terms: your phone number now works like a house key for your money. Whoever holds the SIM gets the codes, and the codes open the wallet.

The warning signs of SIM swap fraud

• Your phone suddenly shows no signal, or emergency calls only, while other people near you on the same network are fine.
• Calls and texts stop arriving, and friends say your line rings but you never see the call.
• You get a message about a new line or SIM you did not ask for. Safaricom sends an SMS from 707 asking you to confirm when someone tries to register a new line with your ID.
• A caller asks for your ID number, date of birth or a code and says they are from your network. Safaricom says it only calls from 0722000000, and it tells customers never to share their PIN with anyone.

One sign alone can be a normal network problem. A sudden loss of signal right after a strange call or text is the moment to act, not to wait.

Five steps to protect your mobile money from SIM swap fraud

These take about ten minutes. The codes below are Safaricom’s, from its official fraud tips page. If you use another network, ask its official helpline for the same protections.

1. See every line in your name. On Safaricom, dial *106#. A number you do not recognise is a red flag, because fraudsters sometimes register lines with stolen ID details.
2. Turn on SIM swap protection. On Safaricom, dial *100*100# to help prevent your SIM being swapped without you there in person.
3. Lock your SIM with a PIN. On Android, look under Settings, then Security, then SIM card lock (the exact menu varies by phone). On iPhone, go to Settings, then Mobile Service (or Cellular), then SIM PIN. Write the new PIN somewhere safe. If you enter it wrong three times, you will need the PUK code from your network.
4. Change any easy-to-guess mobile money PIN. Avoid your year of birth or 1234. Safaricom says to change your PIN at once if you think anyone else knows it.
5. Take your ID details off public view. Your date of birth, ID number and full name are the raw material for a SIM swap. Remove them from social media profiles and never send them to a caller.

For extra cover, move important accounts such as email and banking apps to an authenticator app instead of text message codes where the service allows it. Our guide to setting up two-factor authentication on any phone walks through it.

If you use MTN MoMo, Airtel Money or another wallet

SIM swap fraud is not limited to one network or one country. Figures cited in INTERPOL’s report put Ghana’s mobile money fraud losses at $1.3 million in the first quarter of 2025. The same report notes that Tanzania saw a 19% drop in attempts after it enforced SIM registration more strictly, which shows that tighter checks do work.

The protections work the same way everywhere: know which lines are in your name, lock your SIM, guard your PIN and act fast when your signal drops. MTN Ghana has told MoMo users never to give their secret codes to anyone, including people who claim to work for MTN, and to ignore calls from unknown numbers. Ask your own network whether it offers a SIM swap lock or a waiting period before a new SIM can be used for mobile money.

What to do if you think your SIM was swapped

1. Call your network from another phone right away and ask it to block the line and the mobile money wallet. Minutes matter.
2. Call your bank and ask it to freeze any account linked to that number.
3. Change your email password, because email is often how thieves reset other accounts. Our guide on what to do first if your phone may be hacked covers the next steps.
4. Report it to the police and keep a written record of times, messages and amounts. Safaricom customers can also forward fake messages to 333 so those numbers get blocked.

What to watch

Regulators know this is growing. Kenya’s Communications Authority logged 86 fraud and scam complaints in April to June 2026, up 83% from 47 the quarter before, and says it is reviewing SIM registration and replacement procedures and requiring operators to strengthen customer checks. INTERPOL’s report also notes that Kenya has advanced a bill to amend its cybercrime law so it targets SIM swap fraud and scam calls. It is not law yet.

Until those checks catch up, the steps above are your best protection. Scammers also use fake payment messages to get goods out of the door, so it is worth reading how to spot a fake bank alert before you ship the goods, and our wider guide to securing digital wallets.

Source: INTERPOL African Cyberthreat Assessment Report 2026.