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MoMo fraud is on the rise, and since it appears that earlier strategies are gaining traction, con artists are coming up with new ways to steal your money. I will tell you about my experience to help you from becoming a victim of this.
You may pay less for more data with a new low-cost bundle offer from MTN, Airtel, and Telecel. Now, scammers and fraudsters are using this opportunity.
By paying and registering, anyone can become an agent, and they frequently offer these packages for sale at various costs. You must submit money to the agent in order for them to activate the bundle for you. You can interact with the agent directly if you know them personally. On the other hand, issues arise when the agent is online. When I told an agent on TikTok that I was interested in purchasing data, he gave me a very low price. Although they frequently add their markup, I was aware that the bundle itself was cheap.
In order for him to activate it for me, he requested that I send the money first. I was persuaded and sent the money after a protracted discussion in which I attempted to verify his legitimacy. He assured me it would only take five minutes, but I didn’t hear back from him after 10. He told me he was working on it when I called, but there had been no update. He said there were network problems after I called again and advised me to use a shortcode to activate the bundle on my end. He told me to call a shortcode that put me in contact with Nagrat, who informed me that they required a staff ID.
I told him I didn’t have one when he asked for mine. He went on to say that I would receive a six-digit number from MTN 2.0 and that in order to activate my data, I needed to add my MoMo PIN to make it ten digits. I was hesitant and doubtful at this point. When I asked him why he required my PIN, he explained that it was so MTN could activate the service because they would be charging me the next time I purchased data from my end. Although his answers were unclear, I felt rather confident and continued because I believed I wasn’t directly giving him my code.
When I asked why I was a new user and needed to be registered with a staff ID, he told me that since I had already dialed the 10-digit number on Nagrat, it would come through this time if I gave him the ID to register me as a new user. I received another message after entering the code that said the staff ID was incorrect.
I provided it, and he said he was working on it, asking me to stay on the line. After he hung up, I called back, and he asked if my number was a new SIM. When I confirmed it was, he advised me to use my old SIM for the process, which raised further suspicions.
I decided to hang up and was about to call MTN when I noticed a transfer from my wallet to an unknown number. I was shocked! I immediately called MTN, explained everything, and they confirmed it was a scam. The representative questioned why I shared the MTN 2.0 code, which they explicitly state not to share with anyone, not even MTN employees.
I realized I had overlooked that warning. Where were my eyes at that point? The representative explained that the MTN 2.0 code is for logging into the MyMTN app, meaning the scammer had used the code to log into my account and transferred my money using my PIN which was all in the 10 digit “ID.”
I thanked her and reported the fraud, hoping to recover my money. Please remember: never share your PIN or any codes sent to you. Always read the messages attached to codes, and if you feel any doubt, call 100 for clarification so you don’t fall victim to these scams. I wonder how the Ghana card linking to SIMs is helping if scams continue to happen.
But I don’t feel safe using MTN anymore because scammers and fraudsters keep calling with their tactics. In a single day, I can receive about three calls from different scammers, both males and females. So now, I’ve moved all my funds to a USDT wallet in Minipay on the Opera News app, where I earn daily interest and face almost no transaction fees. They should come there too and try.
