Airbnb Fraudster Arrested in Ruaka, Kiambu

A suspect believed to be the main culprit in a string of fraud cases across Nairobi, Kiambu, Kisumu, and Mombasa counties has been apprehended.

The suspect was arrested on Thursday in Ruaka, Kiambu County, after attempting to seek aid at a bank where her frozen account was tied to numerous dubious transactions. Using copyrighted images, the suspect had been operating through multiple Facebook accounts to lure unsuspecting vacationers. According to the Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the suspect, aged 24, would entice her victims on the Internet and then direct them to make payments to a Till or Paybill number.

"In a well-choreographed scheme that has milked both local and foreign coast-goers to the bones, the daring suspect opened several social media platforms purporting to own several Airbnbs in the Coastal region of Mombasa, drawing a followership of over 10k unsuspecting fun lovers," the DCI boss Mohamed Amin said in a statement.

However, once the payments were made, she would vanish, leaving them stranded at various locations like beaches, bus stations, SGR terminals, and airports. To avoid detection, she would frequently change her SIM cards, which were registered under different names, often using stolen ID cards. The suspect's undoing occurred when she deceitfully obtained an unspecified amount of money from a banker who was unwilling to overlook the transaction.

Amin reports that the banker tipped the detectives, prompting them to take swift and decisive action against her. The director of the DCI announces that following her arrest, multiple DCI stations in the Nairobi region, including DCI Kilimani, Kasarani, Thika, Kiambaa, and Kiambu, are presently in the process of preparing legal documents for her upcoming court appearance.