Zimbabwe Ignored the Warning, Mobile Money and SMS Bank Transfer Fraud Now Rampant

On 15 April 2018, the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Division of the Zimbabwe Institution of Engineers (ZIE) hosted a groundbreaking Cyber Security Conference in Harare. The event drew in ICT experts, executives, engineers and members of the country’s security services, all eager to understand the emerging threats in the digital era. Among the keynote presentations was a timely warning that highlighted the risks Zimbabwe would face if it failed to prepare for technology-driven crime.

My presentation specifically demonstrated how mobile money platforms and bank transfer SMS services could become fertile ground for fraudsters. At the time, these warnings may have sounded speculative, but they have since proved to be disturbingly accurate. Fast forward seven years and Zimbabwe’s number one form of scamming is precisely what I predicted, mobile money fraud and SMS-based banking fraud.

Criminal syndicates have exploited the gaps in cyber security awareness, regulatory frameworks and technological safeguards. Victims are lured into sharing personal information, manipulated into authorising fraudulent transactions or left defenceless against sophisticated schemes that imitate genuine bank communications. Many Zimbabweans, desperate to hold onto every dollar in a fragile economy, have fallen prey to these schemes, often losing their life savings.

Despite the 2018 warnings, responses have largely been reactive rather than preventative. Banks and mobile service providers have tightened their systems, but criminals continue to stay one step ahead, adapting quickly and exploiting loopholes. The lack of a coordinated national cyber security policy has only worsened the problem.

I ask some uncomfortable questions:l, why were the early warnings not taken seriously? Why were the recommendations from that conference not translated into robust protective measures? Had the authorities acted decisively in 2018, Zimbabwe could have spared itself the current wave of scams devastating ordinary citizens.

Today, mobile money fraud and SMS banking scams are the tools of choice for Zimbabwe’s cybercriminals, costing the economy millions and eroding public trust in financial technology. The lesson is clear, ignoring expert warnings about the digital future is not just negligent, it is costly. As technology continues to evolve, so too will crime. Zimbabwe must invest in cyber security education, regulation and infrastructure or risk repeating history again.

Engineer Jacob Kudzayi Mutisi
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