Phone hoax shifts focus to regulator’s ability to curb crime

The ability of the Communications Commission of Kenya to handle electronic crime was put to the test on Wednesday following a flurry of Short Messages (SMS) that caused panic among mobile users in the country by warning them against receiving calls from unknown or certain listed numbers.

The information being relayed through text messages and e-mail, asked subscribers not to answer calls from numbers: 7888308001, 9316048121, 9876266211, 9888854137, 9876715587.

It said the numbers “come in red and if received, would cause brain haemorrhage due to their high frequency.”

The SMSs also claimed 27 people had died after receiving the calls.

It urged recipients to inform friends and relatives and confirm the information by watching DD News.

This came just a day after the conclusion of the SIM card registration exercise after which the government said telcos will be held responsible for any crimes committed through the unregistered cards at the end of expiry of a two week period extended to them to compile the data and submit it to the industry regulator.

The matter is, however, complicated by reports that the crimes were not committed through SIM cards provided by local operators but from operators as far as India and UK.

Nor were they done through GSM handsets but through a different platform known a Voice over Internet Protocol.

The country has a law that deals with electronic crimes locally but it will have to involve security agencies from different countries to track down perpetrators of crimes committed by people outside the country.

Safaricom chief executive Michael Joseph said the incident was unfortunate.

“Investigations show that the numbers listed belong to operators in India and the UK and the calls are initiated over the internet (Voice over Internet Protocol calls). DD News is a reference to an Indian broadcaster called Doordarshan News” said Mr Joseph.

The incident comes soon after IT security analysts warned that Kenya is currently the target of electronic crime courtesy of the speed internet connectivity brought by fibre optic cables.

The CCK responded by saying it had established that the messages were a hoax and was in touch with security enforcement agencies to bring the perpetrators to book.

“We further wish to warn the originators of these messages that they are in breach of the law” said CCK director general Charles Njoroge.

The public and the media was also advised to avoid fuelling the fear by transmitting the messages to friends and family.