Hello viewers, today I am going to talk about MTN Mobile Money (Momo) scammers and fraudsters in part 1. Before I start, let's first look into what these terms mean.
Let's get started :
MTN (Mobile Telephone Network) is a multinational telecommunications company that operates in several African and Middle Eastern countries. It provides services such as mobile and fixed-line telephony, internet, and digital television. They play a crucial role in connecting people, businesses, and communities through their extensive network infrastructure.
MTN Mobile Money is a financial service offered by MTN in various countries. It enables users to perform financial transactions using their mobile phones. Users can send and receive money, pay bills, purchase airtime, and access other financial services through their mobile devices, without the need for a traditional bank account. Mobile Money has been particularly beneficial in regions where traditional banking infrastructure may be limited.
Note: There are some fraudsters who try to trick you into giving them your money or personal information. Here are some tips on how to avoid being a victim of MTN Mobile Money fraud :
- Never share your PIN with anyone, not even MTN staff or agents. Your PIN is your secret code to access your account and authorize transactions. If you share it with someone else, they can steal your money or identity.
- Choose a strong PIN that is hard to guess, but easy to remember. Avoid using your birth date, phone number, or simple patterns like 1234 or 1111. You can change your PIN anytime by dialing *170#, selecting Wallet, and choosing Change MM PIN.
- Don't give your phone to agents to do transactions for you. You should always initiate and confirm transactions yourself using your own phone. If you give your phone to an agent, they might change your PIN, transfer your money, or access your personal information.
- Wait for confirmation messages from MTN before and after every transaction. Make sure the messages are from MobileMoney, not from other numbers. Check the details of the transaction, such as the amount, the recipient, and the balance, and report any errors or discrepancies to MTN customer service.
- Count your money in front of the agent when you withdraw cash. Make sure you receive the exact amount that you requested and that matches the confirmation message. Don't leave the agent's shop until you are satisfied with the transaction.
- Beware of fraudulent calls and messages that claim to be from MTN or other organizations. They might ask you to send money, share your PIN, or click on a link to claim a prize, a bonus, or a refund. These are scams to trick you into giving them your money or information. Don't respond to such calls or messages, and don't follow their instructions. If you are not sure, call MTN customer service to verify the authenticity of the call or message.
- Don't click on suspicious links in emails or texts that claim to be from MTN or other organizations. They might lead you to fake websites that ask you to enter your PIN, your account details, or other personal information. These are phishing attempts to steal your identity or access your account. Always type the official website address of MTN or other organizations in your browser, and don't send your details via unencrypted emails or texts.
- Report any suspicious activity to MTN customer service as soon as possible. If you notice any unauthorized transactions, changes in your PIN, or other signs of fraud, call MTN customer service number 100 or visit their nearest Customer Service Centre to report the issue and block your account.
- People may pretend to ask for your phone to make calls, but their intention is different. They want to check your last Mobile Money message to see your total balance, delete the MTN Mobile Money message, and save their number on your phone as "MobileMoney." Later, when they send you a message, you might think it from official MTN. After checking your balance and storing their number, they may act like the call didn't go through and return your phone, even saying thank you.
After some time, you will receive a message from the number saved as "MobileMoney" on your phone, tricking you into thinking it's from MTN. Subsequently, you will receive a call from another number claiming a wrong transaction made to you and pleading you to resend the money back. Since the message has the title "MobileMoney," you might not suspect it's a scam. Note that when they took your phone, they checked your last Mobile Money message, which may showed, for example, 202 cedis. When they send the message, they manipulate it to appear similar to an official MTN message with a higher amount like for example message from scammers to you:
Payment received for GHC 200.00 from SYTACLE NEWS Current Balance: GHC 402.00 . Available Balance: GHC 402.00. Reference: 1. Transaction ID: xxxxxxxxx. TRANSACTION FEE: 0.00
They send a message to your phone using the number stored on it. Upon receiving the message, you may not immediately realize it's a scam. The message indicates that you've received 200 cedis, adding up to your existing 202 cedis, making it a total of 402 cedis, which appears accurate. Believing it to be legitimate, you might act as a good Samaritan and send back the supposed 200 cedis, resulting in a zero account balance.
However, the scammers didn't actually send any money; they copied an MTN Mobile Money message, made alterations, and forwarded it to you as a fake money-sent message. Due to the swift deception, you may not notice this. Once you send the money, they promptly withdraw it, making it impossible for MTN to reverse the transaction. This is when you realize you've been scammed, and unfortunately, your money is lost.
NB: I didn't mention the remaining 2 cedis; when you send 200 cedis to someone, there's a 2.00 cedis charge else the transaction will fail. Fraudsters meticulously calculate and process these details extensively before attempting to scam you.
NB: This type of scam can happen to anyone, but it depends on how smart you are. Also, avoiding giving your phone to people will not necessarily prevent falling victim to this scam. Close individuals like brothers, sisters, and relatives can potentially access your phone to use this way to scam you, without you being aware of it because you trust them.
How to be sufficiently smart to avoid this type of scam:
- Lock your device or entire apps with a code known only to you, preventing access even from trusted individuals.
- Refrain from allowing unknown individuals to make calls on your phone.
- Try checking your balance first to confirm that the money has been sent to you before attempting any transaction with someone who claims a wrong transaction occurred.
- Check the message sent to you as a money sent message from MTN. Ensure all the letters in the message are spelled correctly. If one word is not spelled correctly, then the message is from scammers. Do not attempt to send any money back, that will result in the loss of funds.
- If steps 1, 2, 3 and 4 seem overly strict, here's a universally smart approach:
Original Message Of MTN Mobile Money
That Can Send To You (Example) :
Payment received for GHS 200.00 from SYTACLE NEWS Current Balance: GHS 402.00 . Available Balance: GHS 402.00. Reference: 1. Transaction ID: ×××××××××××. TRANSACTION FEE: 0.00
Fake Message Of MTN Fraudsters
That Can Send To You (Example) :
Payment received for GHC 200.00 from SYTACLE NEWS Current Balance: GHC 402.00 . Available Balance: GHC 402.00. Reference: 1. Transaction ID: ×××××××××××. TRANSACTION FEE: 0.00
1. Differences : Look at both slowly and carefully; you'll notice the difference. It's quite simple – the original message uses 'S,' not 'C,' in the cedis abbreviation (GHS), whereas a fake message has 'C' instead of 'S' in the cedis abbreviation (GHC).
- Abbreviation for cedis is GHS
2. In the case of the Original Message, you cannot reply to that Mobile Money message when it's sent to you. However, with a Fake Message, you can reply with a mocking tone, communicating with the scammer.
3. When dealing with the Original Message, you cannot view the MTN number used to send you the message. In contrast, with a Fake Message, you can see the person's number, including all 10 digits, stored on your phone as Mobile Money.
NB: Fraudsters can't send exactly original message to someone with abbreviation of cedis "GHS", it's will fail to send. That's the reason for changing it to "GHC".
MTN is working hard to fix all these patches to make their service safe for everyone.
Remember, being cautious and vigilant is crucial when dealing with financial transactions. If in doubt, contact MTN customer support for assistance.
That's all the tips. I will see you next in Part 2.
Thank you for reading this article.
tags :
Scammers