MOMO Fraud: MTN Ghana discovers a new way to combat MOMO fraud in Ghana

Mr. Selorm Adadevoh, CEO of MTN Ghana Group, reaffirmed MTN Ghana’s commitment to combating MOMO fraud cases across the country during the 25th Anniversary Edition of MTN’s Annual Editors Forum on Friday.

Speaking at the forum, Mr. Selorm Adadevoh stated unequivocally the reason for the country’s decrease in MOMO fraud. He claimed that the telecommunications giants had joined forces with the Ghana Telecoms Chamber to make MOMO fraud “very costly” in the country. As a result, a significant decrease in the number of MOMO fraud cases reported across the country lately.

“So far we’ve all seen and I’m sure you can attest that the complaints of MoMo fraud has gone down and this is due to a number of things we have done like collaborating with our partners the Ghana Telecoms Chamber. Together we have formed an alliance and created a barrier that makes being a fraudster very hard “.

He further revealed that the measures implemented by MTN and the Ghana Telecoms Chamber render the phone used for MOMO fraud useless because its IMEI will be blacklisted. Hence, no SIM card can be used in that phone. Fraudsters’ would rather have to replace phones each time they make a call.

“So what we’ve done is that today if you commit fraud with a particular phone, that phone within a matter of hours will be blocked across all networks in Ghana, not the SIM but the phone. So if you are a fraudster what that means is that you will keep buying phones and that’s very costly,” he stated.

Background: MTN MOMO fraud in Ghana

Mobile money fraud is a very lucrative venture for MOMO fraudsters across the country. A recent study conducted by the Bank of Ghana revealed an increase in the number of fraud cases reported in the country’s banking industry. 

MTN mobile money customers increased to 9.8 million in 2020, representing a 5.8 percent increase. However, due to its large market share in the mobile money business, MTN MOMO fraud cases have also increased similarly, putting its customers at a disadvantage.

Although the recent No ID, No MOMO policy is leading the charge to combat MOMO fraud, the battle is yet to be won. MTN Ghana has also assured its customers of assisting the Ghana Police Service in prosecuting MOMO fraudsters.

“We are working with the Ghana Police Service to arrest fraudsters so they go through the prosecution process,” Mr. Adadevoh further stated.

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