MTN Ghana’s CEO, Stephen Blewett, has shared a personal experience in which he was targeted by mobile money fraudsters, emphasizing the growing threat of scams in the country.

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Speaking on his first anniversary as CEO, Blewett described how the incident unfolded during his first month at MTN Ghana. He received a call from a scammer who attempted to deceive him into believing that he had made a transfer.

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"In my first month here, I received a call from a fraudster. He claimed I had made a transfer and tried to manipulate me into believing it. I decided to keep him on the phone for about 15 minutes, hoping that by doing so, he wouldn’t scam someone else," Blewett recalled.

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"Eventually, I told him I was the CEO of MTN, and he didn’t believe me. He got upset and hung up. But this experience serves as a reminder of how important it is to stay vigilant."

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Blewett reassured customers that MTN remains committed to fighting mobile money fraud, stressing that the company is actively working on ways to better protect users.

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"We are constantly asking ourselves how we can improve. We are applying the same customer-first mentality to tackle these issues and are exploring better solutions for our users," he stated.

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Mobile money fraudsters are advancing strategies that utilize the trust and reliance of patrons on mobile money agents.

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The fraudsters take the form of agents or connected people from the telecommunication network; they obtain customer details (including names and phone numbers) from agents’ record books or through illicit channels.

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Using this information, they send a message that takes the messaging format of mobile money transaction prompts.

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They follow up with a call to the targeted mobile money user, calling them by name, and sharing stories of their previous transaction making the scamming process appear legitimate and trustworthy.

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The fraudster then claims there has been a wrong transaction or an error in depositing funds into the user's account.

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They will often pressure the user to send back the "excess" money or provide their private information, claiming that it's necessary to resolve the supposed issue or threaten to block the user.

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