Retraits frauduleux via l'application Djamo : la Sonatel dépouillée de 213 millions F CFA, 6 escrocs arrêtés par la BR de Kaolack
A spectacular police operation in Taïba Niassène! The Kaolack Research Brigade (BR), under the command of Chief Warrant Officer Modou Ndiaye, dealt a decisive blow to cybercrime by dismantling a particularly well-organized fraud network. Six members of this gang were arrested in Taïba Niassène and brought before the Saloum High Court on February 4th, according to exclusive information obtained by Seneweb. The total amount of the losses is estimated at 216 million CFA francs.
The suspects arrested are: MDT, 23, auto electrician; CS, 20, building electrician; MIN, 25, street vendor; AMN, 21, motorcycle taxi driver; MK, 25; and MAT, 25. All reside in Taïba Niassène. Other members of the gang, currently on the run, have been located in The Gambia.
First case: the fake phone bill scam
In this first part, the fraudsters posed as SONATEL agents in order to extort 3 million CFA francs from three victims: CMK, an army colonel based in Ouakam; Ms. FL, residing in Dakar; and BC, residing in Rufisque.
The modus operandi was remarkably effective. The perpetrators randomly selected landline numbers whose owners resided primarily in the Dakar and Thiès regions. They contacted these numbers during working hours, hoping to reach domestic staff or children.
Claiming to be SONATEL agents, they threatened to cut off the line for non-payment of bills. Under this pressure, they obtained the mobile phone number of the line owner. They then set up a three-way call, allowing the caller to hear the owner's voice, before disconnecting the owner from the conversation.
Continuing their manipulation, the scammers claimed that the employer had given his consent for the housekeeper to search the house for money to pay the alleged bill. The victims then made transfers via Orange Money and Wave.
Second case: exploiting a vulnerability via the Djamo application
The second part of this case represents a considerable loss. The suspects exploited a technical vulnerability in the Djamo application to embezzle 213,298,600 CFA francs from SONATEL.
The alert and the discovery of the vulnerability
On November 3, 2025, Djamo's general management reported to SONATEL fraudulent deposits made via Orange Money and Wave during the period from October 29 to 30, 2025.
To understand the fraud, it's important to know that Djamo uses the API (Application Programming Interface) of the OFMS (Orange Financial Mobile Services) platform. This software interface allows two applications to communicate and automatically exchange data.
Technical investigations confirmed the exploitation of a vulnerability in the system. Specifically, the module responsible for confirming the execution of operations with Djamo generated a double notification, causing a second abnormal and random deposit — corresponding to the amount of the last transaction — which was added to the initial legitimate deposit.
The fraudsters' scheme
The method was simple but effective. The fraudster would initiate a top-up operation to his account from the Djamo application, validate the transaction on the Max It or Wave platforms, and automatically benefit from an additional deposit of a random amount, without any financial compensation.
Damages of over 213 million
A thorough analysis of transactions between OFMS and Djamo, conducted between October 30 and November 3, 2025, revealed that the losses amounted to 213,298,600 CFA francs. No fewer than 1,012 phone numbers were implicated in this massive fraud, the majority of which were located in Kaolack, particularly in the Taïba Niassène district.
A thorough examination of the call logs of the suspect numbers revealed the existence of phones used to massively over-load SIM cards during the period in question. Investigators found that the same individuals were simultaneously manipulating multiple numbers from the same devices. This technique allowed some suspects to make fraudulent deposits amounting to several million CFA francs each. Consequently, Sonatel filed a complaint.
The six defendants are being prosecuted for conspiracy, unauthorized access to and remaining in a computer system, and theft.
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