Weka kwa hii number: The wild world of conmen

Are you even living in Kenya if you haven’t been hustled for cash by some scammer or the other? Now, people like me and you know how to shoo away the hundreds of conmen who will call and ask for cash.

I have received them all, from my alleged child needing the new scientific calculator to someone asking me to Mpesa my rent to them. I’ve had my bank call me a million times, asking for my PIN. Now as if this wasn’t nuisance enough, enter the 30-40 something Asian Kenyan and the other woes that accompany this non-stop online and telephone scamming that goes on.

Now, aside from keeping my own identity, mobile money and cyber security safe - I have to do the same with my parents. This is what my rant is really all about. I recently received a frantic call from an elderly relative of mine, asking me to help him quickly send Sh30,000 to his (equally elderly) friend who has gotten in touch asking for cash. I calmly asked him if this was the same friend who owns several businesses and is basically one of the richest people we know. He eagerly said yes. Do the math, I urged. Being hacked or conned did not even cross his mind. They are just so easily scammed, it’s a dream come true for a hacker.

I now count a few minutes a day at the very least for my parents or in-laws, and other relatives and their technology-related issues. They range from random friend requests to their shock and disbelief when a WhatsApp forward claims that a cupful of vegetable oil instead of your morning coffee can cure cancer.

They willy-nilly answer calls from scammers and enjoy entire conversations, not realising what is going on. I don’t know if this is just as Asian Kenyans, but technology and the elderly simply don’t get along. So my first line of defence is to tell them to ignore any message that reads ‘Tuma kwa hii namba’… and the education continues, it is an uphill battle, to say the least.