Police officers in Eldoret town have asked members of the public to be wary of new tricks that robbers have devised to steal from them.
Uasin Gishu County Police Commander Benjamin Mwanthi says the robbers have been targeting individuals from withdrawing money from banks as well as those visiting the town from rural areas.
Addressing the press at his office in Eldoret town, Mwanthi revealed that one of the tricks involves a group of individuals that pose as preachers.
They approach an individual just after withdrawing money from a bank and claim they want to pray for them – only to end up robbing their unsuspecting victims.
“Those criminals wait for someone from a bank and claim they know their problems and want to pray for them. But in the process, they end up robbing that individual,” said the county police boss.
Allow somebody to make a call from your phone at your own risk
Another trick involves snatching phones from the members of the public.
Mwanthi says the new trick has seen a number of locals lose their mobile phones to individuals who initially begged for help to make a call – on pretence of being in need.
“They are targeting individuals from rural areas claiming they need a phone to make a call. Once you give them the phone, they make the call and start pretending it has no good network moving away from you, only to end up vanishing with the phone,” the police commander said.
He is now advising members of the public to be cautious when giving their phones to strangers.
The third trick, according to the police involves rapping Ksh100 notes around papers to make it look like a bundle of money.
Later, the culprits drop the bundle near their target, pretend it has been dropped by someone else and once he/gets their attention, they persuade them to go to a place where they can share the money. Those who fall for the tricks end up being robbed.
These tricks are likely to be commonly used by criminals ahead of the festive season which usually sees the town experience a high number of people visiting for various activities.
But even as the police warned members of the public to be cautious of the new tricks, they have assured that they are making efforts to curb such criminal activities.
Mwanthi also noted that security within Eldoret town has generally improved and that the town is currently 90 per cent safe.
