Safaricom, DTB Liable in Kenya SIM Swap Fraud Case

In Short

• Kenya’s High Court upheld a ruling that splits liability for a KES 4.4 million, about $34,000, SIM swap fraud between a bank and a telco.
• The court said both Diamond Trust Bank and Safaricom had independent duties to prevent foreseeable losses.
• The decision could push tougher controls for SIM swaps and account takeovers across Kenya’s banking and mobile money stack.

What Happened

A Kenyan SIM swap fraud case has ended with a clear message for service providers. Kenya’s High Court has held Diamond Trust Bank and Safaricom jointly responsible for losses after fraudsters stole KES 4.4 million, about $34,000, from customer Mercy Wairimu Kariuki.

A SIM swap is when a criminal convinces a telecom to move your phone number to a new SIM card. Once they control the number, they can receive one-time passwords, meaning the short codes sent by SMS that banks use to confirm logins and transfers.

Kariuki said her phone line was hijacked and that she reported the incident and believed it had been resolved. Two days later, on February 8, 2022, she received alerts showing the money had been withdrawn from her Diamond Trust Bank account overnight.

On June 18, Justice Asenath Ongeri upheld a lower court decision to split liability between the lender and the telecom operator. The judge rejected arguments from both companies that the other party’s failure broke the chain of responsibility.

Why It Matters

This ruling raises the standard of care for SIM swap fraud handling in Kenya. It signals that banks and telecoms can be expected to prevent predictable fraud even when the initial compromise happens outside their own systems.

For banks, that could mean stronger customer authentication beyond SMS, tighter transfer monitoring, and faster response when customers flag account takeover risk. For telcos, it could mean stricter SIM replacement checks, better audit trails, and clearer escalation paths when a user reports a hijacked line.

The decision matters for the broader fintech and mobile money ecosystem too, including services tied to phone numbers for payments and identity checks. In Kenya, where mobile money rails like M-PESA are deeply linked to everyday transactions, court-backed expectations may shape how providers design security, refunds, and dispute handling.