How do I report an online scam in Tanzania?
Call your mobile money provider and your bank first so they can try to stop the money, then report it at the nearest police station. The Tanzania Police Force has a Cyber Crime Unit. Report investment scams to the CMSA.
Reporting matters even if the amount is small: it helps the bank, the mobile money provider, the platform and the police, and it can link your case to others by the same scammer. The Cyber Crime Unit of the Tanzania Police Force investigates online fraud.
Step by step
- Call your mobile money provider (M-Pesa, Airtel Money or Mixx by Yas) and your bank straight away. Report the payment as fraud and ask them to try to reverse it or stop the money in the account that received it.
- Keep everything: screenshots of the chats, the profile, the number, the mobile money or bank account details, the payment SMS messages, proofs of payment and links.
- Report it at the nearest police station. Explain that it's online fraud, take your evidence, with dates and amounts, and write down the RB number.
- Give the RB number to your mobile money provider or bank.
- The police station can pass the case to the Cyber Crime Unit of the Tanzania Police Force. If the scammer used a SIM card registered in someone else's name, you can also report it to the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA).
- If it was an investment scam, report it to the CMSA. Report the profile on the platform where you chatted.
Frequently asked questions
- Do I need a lawyer to report it?
- No. Anyone can report a crime at a police station.
- I'm embarrassed to talk about it. Is it worth it?
- Yes. Scams fool people of every age and profession. Reporting helps stop the scammer.
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