Ruaka: 24-Year-Old Woman Operating Non-Existent Airbnbs Nabbed For Conning Clients

• DCI detectives have arrested 24-year-old Sheila Wakesho Matasa for allegedly defrauding foreigners and locals using nonexistent Airbnbs
• The suspect was arrested in Ruaka, Kiambu county, where she had gone to seek assistance at a bank that had frozen her account
• The detectives revealed that Wakesho had three fake business outlets and six SIM cards registered with stolen ID cards

Nancy Odindo, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings more than three years of experience covering politics, news, and feature stories across digital and print media in Kenya.

Kiambu - The Directorate of Criminal Investigations has apprehended a 24-year-old woman for allegedly swindling money from coast-goers through non-existing Airbnbs.

Sheila Wakesho Matasa is a prime suspect in a series of fraud cases reported in Nairobi, Kiambu, Kisumu, and Mombasa counties.

According to the DCI sleuths, Wakesho was nabbed at a bank lobby in Ruaka, where she had gone to seek assistance after the institution froze her account due to multiple suspicious transactions.

"Detectives in Kiambaa, Kiambu county nabbed her at a bank lobby in the fast-growing satellite town of Ruaka as she sought assistance at a bank that had frozen her account over multiple suspicious transactions," read the DCI statement in part.

"In one of the incidents that finally gave her away after months of trailing, she obtained an unrevealed sum of money from a banker who would not let the money just go without a face and a name. After the foul play, the banker tipped the detectives, who swiftly got their feet on her neck," added the detectives.

How did Wakesho run her business?

She operated three Facebook accounts: Lifestyle Beachfront AirBnB, Mombasa Raha AirBnB, and Shah Tours, all with a following of over 10,000 unsuspecting fun lovers.

As per the detectives, Wakesho posted plagiarised information and photos with copyright ownership to fancy her unavailable business outlets.

"Some of her accounts on Facebook include Lifestyle Beachfront AirBnB, Mombasa Raha AirBnB and Shah Tours. Notably, most of the information used to advertise "her" fancy AirBnBs was plagiarised, and the uploaded photos bear copyright ownership," disclosed DCI.

Her clients were directed to channel booking fees through an M-Pesa till number.

Upon receipt of the payment, the suspect would suddenly vanish, leaving the Mombasa lovers stranded along beaches, bus stations, SGR terminals, and airports.

To cover her tracks, the smart suspect interchanged SIM cards, which the DCI revealed were registered under different names with the aid of stolen national ID cards.

"So cunning has been Wakesho that she used multiple subscriber SIM cards interchangeably to cover her tracks, which were registered in different names, mostly using stolen ID cards. The numbers include 0708 901 010, 0799 661 708, 0799 605 774, 0707 920 971, 0742 521 046, and 0788 370 306," said the DCI.

She is currently being processed for arraignment.

3 cons operating fake Jumia account arrested

In January of this year, the detectives arrested three men who were running a fake Jumia account.

Through a Facebook page ‘Jumia Shopping’ the three ran a promotion over the Christmas and New Year period, offering discounts of up to 40% for various household goods, attracting shoppers in droves.

The cons had an M-Pesa till number and 22 SIM cards. After unsuspecting clients made their orders, they sent them invoices via WhatsApp with promises to make deliveries within 24 hours.