Global losses to scams are now estimated at more than one trillion dollars a year. The United Nations warns that hundreds of thousands of people have been trafficked into Southeast Asia to operate online fraud networks, many disguised as call centers or customer service firms.
Their victims are everywhere, on messaging apps, in email inboxes, and increasingly, inside Africa’s fast-growing mobile economy.
ALSO READ: AI must be affordable in Africa, say experts at Mobile World Congress
Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn
At this year’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) Kigali, a central theme cut through the flash of AI demos and 5G banners: trust. Panels that once revolved around connectivity and innovation are now equally focused on the darker reality of what digital growth invites.
During the Security Summit, industry leaders from Airtel, MTN, Ethio Telecom, Ecobank, FraudBuster, and Rwanda’s National Cyber Security Authority gathered to dissect how the region is handling the surge in digital fraud — and what can be done to fight back.
ALSO READ: Regional telcos push for spectrum reform
Jean Claude Gaga, Managing Director of Airtel Mobile Commerce Rwanda, opened with a story that drew quiet laughter before landing its warning. “Someone bought a doughnut,” he said, “and realized the paper wrapping was their own printed CV from a job application.”
It was a vivid metaphor for how casually data is handled and how easily it falls into the wrong hands. For Gaga, the doughnut story is a reminder that in the digital era, identity can be traded, printed, and recycled just as quickly as paper.
Fraud, he explained, rarely begins with sophistication. It begins with familiarity — a friendly voice, a convincing text, or a number that looks right. “Someone might call pretending to be from your child’s school or your bank,” he said. “They sound professional. You follow their instructions. Then the money is gone.”
Until recently, Rwanda’s telecom sector wrestled with unregistered SIM cards circulating freely, creating an open door for fraudulent activity. But new regulations have since tightened the process. “You can’t just walk in and buy a SIM card anymore,” Gaga said. “Biometric verification — face or fingerprint — is now required, and cards are activated only at authorized points.”
Still, scammers adapt quickly. As their methods evolve, so must the defences. Airtel’s latest weapon is an AI-powered detection system that doesn’t read messages directly but studies behavior across the network. It looks for subtle patterns — repetitive SIM swaps, one-way message flows, erratic login attempts — and flags suspicious activity in real time.
“The system checks more than 250 indicators,” Gaga said. “It works automatically and doesn’t require any downloads. Everyone with an Airtel SIM is already protected.”
The company also introduced a SIM Swap API that alerts banks whenever a phone number linked to an account has recently been replaced — a favorite trick among cybercriminals. Since launching the API, Airtel reports that fraudulent account openings in participating banks have dropped to zero.
FraudBuster, one of Airtel’s long-time partners, operates behind the scenes for several African telecoms. The company uses machine learning to spot anomalies in mobile money transactions and block them before the losses accumulate.
“Fraud is not just a technical issue,” said Michael Houis, FraudBuster’s Head of Sales. “It’s a business crisis. When subscribers lose money, they lose trust, and they leave.”
He explained that modern financial fraud doesn’t always look like hacking. Often, it’s manipulation: small, repeated actions designed to exploit system incentives.
“In one West African case,” Houis said, “we detected 2.5 billion francs circulating through artificial transactions. Agents were creating fake cash-ins to earn false commissions. When we blocked the scheme, daily losses of about 280,000 francs stopped overnight.”
Such examples illustrate the scale of the challenge. Fraud networks can be local or transnational, and they adapt faster than most systems can patch. That’s why, for Rwanda, collaboration is just as critical as technology.
Ghislaine Kayigi, Chief Cybersecurity Standards Officer at the National Cyber Security Authority (NCSA), underscored that point. “Technology helps us fight the symptoms,” she said. “But awareness is what addresses the cause.”
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy.
Almost finished…
We need to confirm your email address.
To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you.
There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.
The NCSA runs continuous training across schools, banks, and public institutions, teaching digital literacy and how to identify social engineering attempts — the kind that lure users into revealing passwords or one-time codes. “We remind people that scams do not only target the careless,” said Kayigi, “they also target the connected.”
Across the continent, countries are developing similar frameworks. Nigeria’s Central Bank has launched a fraud monitoring portal, Kenya has integrated mobile wallets with national ID verification, and Ghana has introduced shared fraud databases between telecoms and banks. Rwanda’s own cybersecurity standards are being recognized regionally as models for consumer protection.
“Fraud isn’t only a tech problem,” Gaga noted. “It’s a mindset problem. It’s about how people use technology.”
His words resonated beyond the room. In the end, every click and confirmation remains a choice, a human decision within the machine logic of digital life. In a region as connected and ambitious as Africa, that awareness may be the strongest firewall yet.
Read the original article on New Times.
AllAfrica publishes around 600 reports a day from more than 110 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.
Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.
AllAfrica is a voice of, by and about Africa – aggregating, producing and distributing 600 news and information items daily from over 110 African news organizations and our own reporters to an African and global public. We operate from Cape Town, Dakar, Abuja, Johannesburg, Nairobi and Washington DC.
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy.
Almost finished…
We need to confirm your email address.
To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you.
There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.
source
Local4 days ago
Local5 days ago