A subscriber of leading telecommunications provider MTN has raised alarming concerns about the security of its Mobile Money (MoMo) service.
In a viral video she indicated that fraudsters have recently discovered a method to withdraw funds from users’ accounts without their authorization, circumventing the usual MoMo PIN protection.
The user described a distressing incident where scammers claimed to have sent money to her sister.
When her sister attempted to check her MoMo wallet, she said, a prompt for authorization appeared.
According to her she was confused because such prompts should not occur without the user actively enabling the cashout option.
She added that the situation worsened when the scammers persistently sent additional prompts and calls, even threatening to hack her phone if the user attempted to turn off her phone.
“These MTN fraudsters are becoming a nuisance. I recently had a banter with one. He said he had sent my sister some money. Immediately my sister attempted to check her MOMO wallet but I stopped her. All of a sudden there was a pop up on her phone to authorize payment. MTN I taught one cannot get such a prompt if he or she has not allowed the cash out option. So we dismissed that prompt. As if that was not enough they kept sending prompts. Can you believe they started disturbing her phone with calls. They even threatened to hack her phone if she tries turning off the call,” she added.
Meanwhile, MTN users have called for a more robust response from MTN to address these security concerns and prevent further unauthorized transactions.
MTN MOMO IS NOT SAFE AGAIN.
— 𝐉 𝐀 𝐘 𝐒 𝐓 𝐄 𝐑 𝐋 𝐈 𝐍 𝐆 (@_Jay_Sterling_) August 1, 2024
Fraudsters can now withdraw your cash without your authorization momo pin.
People are complaining but MTN has been quiet on the matter. Watch this
A THREAD pic.twitter.com/51vAPyjojD