From Nairobi, it is clear the online dating fraud and internet scams industry is growing by the minute. Countries like Nigeria or Ghana have been for quite a while classified as some of the highest risk counties for fraud and dating scams, but the criminal expansion has now reached Kenya.

Kenya had been kept out of the internet fraud circle for a long time, probably because it is one of the largest economies in East and Central Africa. However, there is an alarming increase of cases of fraud coming from Nairobi, which raises concerns among private investigators in Africa.

With high unemployment rates and limited opportunity, some unethical people with knowledge of computers and the internet have chosen the path of easy money – online fraud.

Crime rates are in great part linked to a region or country’s economy and social well-being. Although this does not explain the whole picture, there is a connection between economic and social crises and online criminal rates. Kenya, in this case, has historically surpassed its neighboring countries in many different ways, but it has not been immune to the expansion of online mafia gangs.

Several things may have contributed to the alarming increase of scam cases reported from Kenya. According to the Human Development Index of 2017 reported by the United Nations, Kenya recorded a 39.1 percent unemployment rate, which is the highest in all East Africa. The data reflects a shockingly high youth unemployment rate and a large section of the population suffering from chronic unemployment. Almost 40 percent of the people living in Kenya have no employment and no way to find one!  As in many other countries, this is a well known trigger for fraud and crime. Faced with the impossibility of finding a job, many people opt for easy ways to get an income. This, combined with the ease of accessing the internet, explains why Kenya is rapidly becoming a high fraud zone.

How to prevent a Kenya dating scam?

No one wants to think they can be taken advantage of by an internet scam. However, anyone who reads this article is a potential victim. Every single user of the internet is at risk of being defrauded or scammed, so the responsibility of staying safe is mostly on all of us as internet users.

Kenya scams do not have a particular differentiator. However, investigators in Nairobi do report that many people rule out the possibility of fraud since the origin is not one of the hot spots (West Africa). This is a big mistake, considering that there are no risk-free countries.  Kenya is not risk free.  Anyone who is in contact with an individual or company in Kenya is a potential victim.

If you meet someone from Kenya and become interested in developing a relationship with this person (personal or business), make sure you hire a professional background check investigation first.  Wymoo has highly trained investigators on the ground in Nairobi, Kenya and we can uncover the evidence you need to stay safe and make an informed decision.  Regardless of whether the communication has been through dating sites like Match.com or social media like Facebook or Linkedin, caution is advised. Finding out in early stages of a relationship if the person is trustworthy or a complete sham is key to avoiding big losses, not to mention you will save a lot of time and effort too.

C. Wright
© 2017 Wymoo International

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