Police caution public against new mobile money fraud technique

The Ghana Police Service has warned the citizenry against the emergence of a mobile money fraud that is sweeping through the country.

According to the police, fraudsters have resorted to sending texts to phones of victims claiming they have won a lottery or their accounts have been credited with some money.

The fraudsters, the police said, will proceed to call the mobile money user, claiming that he/she works for the telecommunication company and that their outfits have noticed an attempt to defraud the said user.

“Based on this, the targeted victim is advised to proceed to a nearby mobile money vendor to get the scam attempts blocked. At the mobile money vendor, the fraudster requests to speak with the operator directly on the victim’s phone.”

“On the blindside of the victim, the fraudster authorises a cash transfer from vendor’s account to his. After the payment, the mobile money vendor asks the victim for the payment only to realise they have both been defrauded.”

The Service said although other ways have been used to defraud mobile money users, the police have more reported cases of this new mode of operation.

The police have therefore urged vendors to ensure they take money before initiating any money transfer and also cautioned victims against sharing their pin codes.

The statement also advised Ghanaians to take note that authentic mobile money messages follow existing trends in the SMS inbox, adding “the message is not sent through personal SMS telephone.”