Protecting Oneself from Financial Scams and Identity Fraud

24 min

Ten seconds that save a month's pay

Almost every scam in this unit has one moment in common: the moment when the victim is asked to act now. Send the money now. Read me the code now. Pay the fee today or lose the prize. Scammers create that pressure because they know that a person who stops for ten seconds, and checks for ten minutes, is very hard to fool.

This lesson turns what you have learned into habits: how to stop, how to check, how to report, and what to do if, despite everything, you or someone you know has been cheated.

Stop, check, report

Figure 4: Stop, Check, Report. RIB's free crime-reporting line, 166, is listed on rib.gov.rw. Drawn by Ganzaa.

Definition

Verification: confirming a request through a channel you choose yourself, such as the institution's official number or office, never the number or link given in the message.

Two-step verification: a login that needs a second proof besides the password, such as a code sent to your phone.

Passphrase: a long password made of several words, easier to remember and harder to guess than a short one.

Licensed institution: a bank, microfinance institution, insurer or investment firm authorised and supervised by the National Bank of Rwanda (BNR) or the Capital Market Authority (CMA).

Digital footprint: all the information about a person that can be found online.

Habits that protect you

Area	Habits
Phone and mobile money	Keep your PIN secret and change it if anyone may have seen it; never dial a code or enter a PIN that a caller dictates; check any "money received" SMS against your real balance; never dial 21 followed by a number; lock your phone and SIM
Online accounts	Use a different passphrase for each important account; turn on two-step verification; update your phone's apps; never type passwords after clicking a link in a message
Social media	Make accounts private; never post your ID card, boarding pass or bank details; be suspicious when a "friend" suddenly asks for money, and call him or her to check
Investments	Before investing, check that the company is licensed by BNR (bnr.rw) or the CMA (cma.rw); reject any promise of guaranteed high returns; never pay to recruit
Jobs, scholarships, shopping	Real employers and scholarships do not charge fees before an interview; prefer payment on delivery or through trusted platforms

Important

Source A: reporting fraud in Rwanda

Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB), contact page: 166, toll-free, for reporting crime and sharing information. Other RIB lines: 116 (child abuse), 3512 (domestic and gender-based violence), 3029 (Isange One Stop Centre), 2040 (complaints about RIB's service).
RIB advises victims of mobile-money theft to report at once, at the nearest RIB station or on 166, and to report the phone numbers used by thieves so that they can be traced.
In one case announced in September 2025, RIB arrested 26 suspects accused of stealing over Frw 30 million from April to August 2025; about Frw 15 million had been recovered and returned to victims (as reported by KT Press).

Analysing Source A: why speed matters

Stolen mobile money is usually moved quickly through other accounts, often those of money mules, and then withdrawn as cash. The sooner a victim reports, the more likely it is that the receiving accounts can be traced and frozen before the money disappears. In the September 2025 case, about half of the stolen money was returned. So the right order after a scam is: block, report, keep evidence.

If you have been scammed

Block: call your telecom company or bank at once to block the account or SIM and reverse any pending transaction.
Report: to RIB on 166 or at the nearest RIB station, with the scammer's numbers, the transaction IDs and the times.
Keep evidence: screenshots of messages, call logs and receipts. Do not delete anything.
Secure: change your PIN and passwords; turn on two-step verification.
Warn: tell your contacts if your account or identity was used, so they are not tricked next.
Beware of "recovery" offers: people who promise to get your money back for a fee are often the same scammers.

Warning

Shame helps the scammer. Many victims say nothing because they feel foolish. But silence lets the same criminals cheat others, and delays any chance of recovering the money. Reporting is not admitting stupidity; it is protecting the community.

Tip

Agree a family safe word. With voices that can now be cloned, agree a secret word with your family. If a "relative" calls in distress asking for money, ask for the word, or hang up and call back on the number you already have.

Important

Discuss. Who should carry the main responsibility for stopping scams: users, telecom companies and banks, or the State? Think about what each can do that the others cannot.

✦

Practice

Name and explain the three steps in Figure 4.
What is RIB's toll-free number for reporting crime?
Explain why you should verify a request through a number you find yourself, not one given in the message.
Give two habits that protect each of: mobile money, online accounts, investments.
Your aunt receives a call: her son "has been arrested" and needs Frw 200,000 for bail at once. List, in order, what she should do.
Using Source A, explain why victims should report quickly.
"Laws are enough to stop financial scams." Evaluate this statement with reference to this unit.

Show answersHide answers

Stop: do nothing under pressure. Check: verify through the institution's official channel that you find yourself. Report: if it is not genuine or you are unsure, report to RIB (166) and your telecom company or bank, block the number and warn others.
166.
A scammer controls the number, link or website in his own message, and will "confirm" his own lie; only a channel you find independently (the official number, a branch) can be trusted.
Mobile money: keep the PIN secret; never dial codes a caller dictates; check balances. Online accounts: different passphrases; two-step verification. Investments: check BNR or CMA licences; reject guaranteed high returns.
Stop and pay nothing; hang up; call her son directly, or relatives or the police station concerned, on numbers she already has; if it is a scam, report the number to RIB on 166 and warn the family.
Stolen money is moved quickly through other accounts and withdrawn; early reports let investigators trace and freeze it. In the September 2025 case about half of the stolen money was recovered.
Laws (Article 174 of Law N° 68 of 2018; Articles 36 and 40 of Law N° 60 of 2018; Law N° 58 of 2021) punish fraud and protect data, and arrests show they are enforced. But laws act after the crime, many scammers operate across borders, and many victims never report. Prevention also needs public awareness, secure systems from banks and telecoms, and careful habits. Laws are necessary but not sufficient.

1Ten seconds that save a month's pay

2Stop, check, report

3Habits that protect you

4Analysing Source A: why speed matters

5If you have been scammed

Ten seconds that save a month's pay

Stop, check, report

Habits that protect you

Analysing Source A: why speed matters

If you have been scammed