Telecommunications leader MTN Ghana has firmly asserted that it is not feasible for fraudsters to access and withdraw funds from users’ accounts without the customers voluntarily providing their information.
This statement follows the emergence of a viral video and numerous social media posts alleging that fraudsters have drained funds from users’ Mobile Money (MoMo) wallets. In one particularly shared video, a distraught woman claimed that scammers had taken over GHS 11,000 from her accounts, insisting that she had never shared her PIN with anyone.
Another Facebook user reported losing over GHS 13,000, which was intended for surgery, from her MoMo wallet. She also claimed that she had not revealed any sensitive information to anyone.
In response to these allegations, Godwin Tamakloe, the Senior Manager for Anti-Money Laundering, Compliance, and Analytics at MTN, refuted the claims made by the victim who stated that her funds disappeared while she was asleep.
After conducting an internal investigation, Tamakloe disclosed that the victim had fallen prey to a sophisticated social engineering scam.
“We have seen the lady’s video. She claimed she did nothing and was asleep, which is not true. It is impossible. Through our discussions with her and our investigation, we found that she was on a call with the alleged fraudsters for over ten minutes.
“The lady also possesses screenshots of SMS messages she received, including one that contained a link to her mobile money account sent by the fraudsters. These were the tactics they used to manipulate her into sharing that same link back with them.
“Interestingly, the funds were transferred to the same number that had contacted her. It appears she was socially engineered into providing the information that the fraudster needed to gain access to her accounts.”
