Telecommunication giant MTN is asking individuals and corporate institutions to be vigilant to prevent cyber fraud

This comes on the back of several complaints from MTN customers who have fallen victims to cyber fraud.

The General Manager of MTN Mobile Money, Eli Hini in an interview with thebftonline.com on the sidelines of a mobile money capacity building for media organisations, an initiative between MTN Mobile Money and e-Crime Bureau, said mobile money fraud is a serious cause for concern for the telecom giant.

“The network is working very hard with the police service and e-Crime Bureau to bring the situation under control. The Mobile Money service has experienced a few setbacks with fraud which have so far been customer related and not system related. Some of these fraudulent cases had been categorized under phishing, advance fee scams, overcharging by merchants, identity theft and cash out theft.”

“I think customers will also have to be very vigilant and as we are already running advert; try not to give away their pins or allow a third-party access to their account. I can assure you that MTN which is ISO certified has put in place all the necessary security features to ensure that the customer is protected,” he added.

Mr. Hini however assured customers that MTN has undertaken several steps to ensure that the systems are secured. This includes the granting of the ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certification after an assessment conducted by Lloyds Register Quality Assurance (LRQA).

On his part, the Principal Consultant, e-Crime Bureau, Albert Antwi-Bosiako said fighting mobile money fraud is a collective effort between the e-Crime Bureau and MTN to safeguard the payment channel.

According to him, beyond the economic benefits, mobile money services are important for health and safety reasons as subscribers can transfer money from the comfort of their homes without needing to move from one location to another.

“At least five out of ten mobile money subscribers have either experienced one form of fraud or have been a target for mobile money fraudsters/scammers. Subscribers are mainly targeted through SMS, phone calls, e-mails and social media platforms, etc. Thus, there is a need to create consumer awareness among mobile money patrons to safeguard this payment innovation which is destined to contribute to Ghana's payment system in the next coming years,” Mr. Antwi-Bosiako noted.

He therefore noted that, the media is an important stakeholder within the Mobile Money ecosystem especially in public education, hence the understanding of how mobile money works and the current fraud trends will enhance fact-based reporting which will help build public confidence in Mobile Money.