The suspects, Stephen Appiah and Eric Aboagye, were arrested, following a tip-off from MTN about suspicious activities of a group based in Assin Daaman who allegedly send Mobile Money scam messages to subscribers with the intention of tricking them into sending funds to a designated number.

The police found on one of the suspects, Stephen Appiah, nine SIM cards and five mobile phones. Upon further investigation of Stephen Appiah’s mobile money wallets, the Police identified seven victims who the Police suspect had been duped of a total of GHs 3,130.

The suspects have been arraigned before court and remanded in police custody.

Speaking about the arrests, General Manager of Mobile Financial Services, Eli Hini, said, “MTN is very concerned about the recent spate of customer-related Mobile Money fraud cases. We are working hand in hand with the police to ensure the fraudsters are brought to book.”

Through various avenues, MTN continues to educate customers against falling victim to fraudsters. In addition to creating awareness of mobile money fraud on radio, MTN in partnership with E-Crime Bureau, organized a series of workshops nationwide to educate subscribers, security personnel and other groups on how to identify and help fight mobile money fraud.

MTN would like to caution customers to be on alert and not share their PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION NUMBER (PIN) with anyone. In a case where a customer PIN has been compromised, you are advised to immediately change it.

A customer who suspects any fraudulent activity should report it to any of the following channels: MTN Call Center 100, Mobile Money Agent - 114, Customer service centers nationwide, mmfraud.GH@mtn.com, Mobilemoneystr.GH@mtn.com or send SMS to the short code 1515.

MTN has undertaken several measures to ensure the security of the mobile money systems. As a result of system enhancements, MTN was granted ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certification after an assessment conducted by Lloyds Register Quality Assurance (LRQA). The ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certification demonstrates that the MTN Mobile Money system meets international standards.

About MTN Ghana

MTN Ghana is the market leader in the increasingly competitive mobile telecommunications industry in Ghana, offering subscribers a range of exciting options under Pay Monthly and Pay As You Go Services. The company has committed itself to delivering reliable and innovative services that provide value for subscribers in Ghana’s telecommunications market. Since its entry into Ghana in 2006, MTN has continuously invested in expanding and modernizing its network in order to offer superior services to a broad expanse of the nation. Total network investments from 2006-2016 are about US$3.472 billion. MTN has the widest network coverage across Ghana. With the recent commercial launch of 4G LTE services, MTN became the only mobile operator providing 4G services in all regional capitals and large cities. The company has also built three modern switch and data centres to deliver stable, reliable, efficient and robust Telecom and Data Services to customers.