Top MTN Official Tells Users What To Do When Someone Calls About MoMo Wallet, Video

• A video of a top executive from MTN Ghana advising customers in the wake of recently reported cases of mobile money fraud has gone viral
• Appearing on UTV, Faisal Ali asked MTN users to ensure that they protect their MoMo wallet PIN codes
• He also advised persons contacted by unknown individuals under the guise of engaging them about their mobile money wallet to simply call a certain number

Mobile Money Limited's Channel Development Manager at MTN Ghana, Faisal Ali, has sent an appeal to customers in the wake of increased cases of mobile money fraud.

Speaking in an interview on UTV on Friday, May 2, Faisal Ali stressed the need for MTN mobile users to protect their PIN, which he labelled as the signature to their account.

"Let me use this opportunity to say to our viewers, mobile money fraud is happening, but all we say is: make sure you protect your PIN. Your PIN is your signature to your account."

He said in cases where unknown people contact you under the guise of speaking about your mobile money wallet, the best thing to do is to direct such persons to call the MTN customer care centre and provide whatever information they have.

He also advised people who receive such calls to also reach out to MTN customer care to find out if what the person is saying is true.

"And make sure that when somebody calls you, refer the person to call the number 100, or you can also call 100 and seek clarity before you engage in a conversation with the person about your account.

Victim speaks out on Momo fraud

A young Ghanaian lady @mill.peach recently went viral after she allegedly became a victim of a mobile money scam.

A video sighted by YEN.com.gh on TikTok showed the lady looking distraught as she narrated her alleged experience.

She said on Sunday, April 13, she received an alert indicating that money had been withdrawn from her mobile money wallet.

The lady said that almost GH¢12,000 was withdrawn from her account even though she did not sanction or approve the transaction.

She then quickly called the MTN customer care centre to report, only to be told that she needed to wait for 15 working days.

MTN Ghana recently released a statement announcing that it had detected a data breach and had engaged cybersecurity experts to look into the matter.

MoMo is safe

In a comment to YEN.com.gh, Edward Ofori Agyemang, the President of the Mobile Money Advocacy Group Ghana, refuted claims that mobile money is no longer safe.

He said the Bank of Ghana regulates mobile money, hence there is no need for users to panic.

"I don't think the Bank of Ghana would have even approved MTN to venture into mobile money, knowing very well that it is not safe for public consumption. If MoMo wasn’t safe, the vendors would have been the most affected in this business."

Data on MoMo fraud

Speaking in an interview on Channel One TV, the Chief Regulatory, Risk, and Compliance Officer of MTN Mobile Money, Godwin Tamakloe, disclosed that over 23,000 mobile money users reach out to MTN's customer care centre monthly to report suspicious phone calls and attempted fraud by scammers.

Out of this number, he stated that between 400 and 500 MoMo users fall victim to mobile money scams monthly.

MTN employees cannot access customers’ PINs

Godwin Tamakloe also denied rumours that employees of MTN can access the PINs of MoMo users.

Delving into the details, he indicated that the PINs of MoMo users are not generated manually by MTN employees but are generated digitally.

He explained that the system sends MoMo users their mobile money wallet PIN via text message, informing them that they have the option to change it to a number of their choosing.

At the time of writing the report, the video which was sighted on the TikTok page of UTV had raked in over 200 likes.

Watch the video below:

MoMo vendor shares her regrets in life

Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that a Ghanaian mobile money vendor was overcome with sorrow after she was asked about her regrets in life.

The young lady indicated that she prioritised her boyfriend over her education, something she deeply regrets.

She confessed that she used to spend time with her boyfriend in Accra when she should have been in school.

Proofreading by Samuel Gitonga, copy editor at YEN.com.gh.

Source: YEN.com.gh