Rampant Cases Of Malware Attacks on Transsion Products Phone(Tecno, Infinix, Itel), Tax Evasion Allegations, Racism Rocks Tecno Kenya.

Transsion Holdings, the Chinese-based smartphone maker behind popular brands; TECNO, Infinix, itel and smart accessories brand oraimo is currently locked in serious claims of massive tax evasion, smuggling of undocumented Chinese workers, serious labour abuses in Kenya and Malware attacks.

Kenya’s smartphone market in the second quarter of 2024:

•Transsion with 47% share
•Samsung with 27% share
•Xiaomi with 11% share
•HMD Global and OPPO tied at 4% share

The Transsion Malware Cases

The Malware signs users up to subscription services without their permission. It was found on thousands of mobiles sold in Africa, problem was not permanently solved as alot of Transsion company phones sold in Kenya still have the problem as reported by several users who have encountered cases.

Few years ago, Anti-fraud firm Upstream found the malicious code on over 53,000 Tecno handsets, sold in Ethiopia, Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana and South Africa in 2020 and now the problem is in Kenya, Uganda.

Kenyan hour team reached out to Tecno kenya for response, they are to respond one week later.

Transsion phones; Infinix, Tecno are popular in Africa at large as they target low income families hence are affordable in acquisition. The malware comes pre-installed on handsets.

Since their launch in Africa, Transsion has grown in leaps owing to their more favourable price points in line with the population which mainly consists of the middle and lower market range compared to Xiaomi, Apple and Samsung. The strategy has worked well for the African Market as more than half of all smartphones sold in Africa as of 2024 reportedly cost less than $100 in cash.

The Triada malware found by the firm- Upstream on the Android smartphones installs malicious code known as xHelper which then finds subscription services and submits fraudulent requests on behalf of users, doing so invisibly and without the user’s knowledge.

If the request is successful, it consumes pre-paid airtime, the only way to pay for digital services in many developing countries.

In total, Upstream found what it described as “suspicious activity” on more than 200,000 Tecno smartphones.

Upstream, the company which discovered the Malware, reported that it blocked 844,000 transactions linked to the dubious subscriptions from the pre-installed malware on Transsion phones. Despite that, more and more cases of relapse are occurring in these products; Tecno phones, infinix phones known and unknown to clients.

Tax Evasion, smuggling of undocumented Chinese workers, serious labour abuses in Kenya

Whistleblowers have accused the firm of fleecing the country. According to investigative reports, the company which has been in operation in Kenya for over a decade, has evaded paying taxes amounting to over Sh400billion.

Private Tax.

There are accusations that the Chinese firm has been colluding with corrupt Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) officials in the wider scheme to evade paying taxes.

The revelation of KRA officials allegedly collecting private taxes from Chinese companies like Tecno raises serious concerns and calls for thorough investigations into the claims.

Transparency and accountability must be upheld to ensure fair taxation practices and prevent tax evasion.

Despite not being listed among Kenya’s top tax-paying companies, Tecno allocates a significant Kshs. 3 billion -4 billion annual marketing budget to Kenya.

However, there have been allegations that Tecno conducts salary and other payments in cash, potentially skirting typical financial reporting.

Market Dimensions Limited that offers Human Resource (HR) Services to Transsion is also alleged to being a conduit in the larger tax evasion scheme.

Rampant Cases Of Malware Attacks on Transsion Products Phone(Tecno, Infinix, Itel), Tax Evasion Allegations, Racism Rocks Tecno Kenya.

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