This educative article will take you through the new tricks used by fraudsters to steal mobile money from people.
It would be best not to skip any of these new tricks as a fraudster might one day use one of them on you.
The mobile money form of banking has become increasingly popular as it offers a much more convenient way of sending and saving money.
Mobile money allows its users to send money right from the comfort of their homes and vicinity, and you can also use it as a form of emergency savings point.
Due to its popularity, many people have embraced the projects, with millions of users worldwide now using the platform.
It is also common knowledge that fraudsters will try their nefarious activities wherever financial business grows, which is no different from the mobile money platform. Fraudsters have already targeted the mobile banking platform, and many people have already lost their money.
Due to this, we have compiled some of the top tricks that fraudsters use on unsuspecting mobile money users so that you can save your hard-earned money from a bunch of lazy people who may want to steal it.
Below are some of the most widely used methods and tricks used by fraudsters.
Error Messages That Money Has Been Sent To You Mistakenly.
This trick is one of the most common tricks that fraudsters use on people, and it sometimes works for them.
They do this by sending text messages to their victims, making them look like they originated from telecommunication companies.
The messages usually tell the victim that money has been deposited in their mobile money accounts. The fraudsters will immediately call the victim to tell them that they had mistakenly transferred money to their accounts.
The victim will be asked to send the money back. Most people usually fall for this and then send the amount of money back unsuspectingly. One way to be on the alert for this trick is to always be up to date with the amount of money in your mobile money account.
Whenever you receive such messages, the first thing would be to check your account to see if money has been deposited there.
Cash-Out Transaction Pop-Up
Fraudsters can also prompt the cash-out notice on a victim’s phone without their approval. They then call the victims to enter their PIN code on the phone.
Once this happens, the money they have confirmed will be going to the fraudster out of the victim’s account.
Trick You Into Sharing Your PIN
Some fraudsters can also disguise themselves as mobile money agents who are representing the client’s telecommunication company.
They call unsuspecting clients and ask them to disclose their mobile money PINs to assist them during transactions.
When clients give up their PINs, the fraudsters then later use them to withdraw money from the client’s account without their knowledge.
Stealing Victim’s Bank Credentials
Most banks now allow their customers to move money between their mobile money accounts and their bank accounts.
Fraudsters take advantage of this by stealing a customer’s bank credentials. They then later use these credentials to steal money from the victim’s bank account.
Hacking WhatsApp
Some fraudsters also hack the WhatsApp accounts of their victims and then send messages to their contacts that they should send them money.
Sometimes, some friends and family fall for this trick without verifying whether their loved one sent them such messages.
They end up sending money to the fraudsters through the numbers that the fraudsters give them.
Agents Swapping Customer SIM Cards.
Some mobile money agents have also started to fraudulently steal their customers’ funds by swapping their SIM cards and accessing their funds.
They gather the personal details of their victims and then impersonate them by calling the victim’s mobile service provider.
They then claim that they have lost their mobile phones. Most of these are done by fraudsters who work closely with mobile money agents.
Impersonation Of Telecommunication Agents
Some fraudsters also impersonate telecommunication agents or mobile money agents by calling their victims and posing as them.
They then ask the victims to enter some codes into their phones, which, unknown to the victim, approves cash-out for the fraudsters to withdraw money from their accounts.
Merchants Cheating Customers.
Some mobile money agents who are fraudulent have also been found to withdraw money through MoMo pay. They then charge their customers more fees than what is supposed to pay.
Anytime you make a withdrawal from any mobile money agent, always check the amount you withdrew and the current balance before leaving that place.
Fraudster Calls You Pretending You Have Made The Telco Blocked His Sim
This is one of their newest tricks that you need to be aware of because it’s not all that popular, and if care is not taken, you will lose all your money.
Here is how they do it, a fraudster will call you and then tell you he has sent money to your account and that you should send it back (just like they used to do).
Within minutes that same fraudster will call you and start insulting you, claiming you have reported his number to The mobile money network, and because of that, his account is blocked.
After insulting you, he will end the call. Within minutes another person will call you claiming to be calling from the mobile money department and tell you not to worry because they saw that number was about to fraud you.
You will buy it because he will make it look professional. After he has got your attention, he will then tell you to dial some codes to strengthen your mobile money account so that it will be hard for these fraudsters to steal money from your mobile money account.
What To Do When You A Fraudster Approaches You With Any Of These Tricks
End The Call
This step should be the first thing you should do when you sense the call is from a fraudster. All you have to do is end the conversation. Doing this will let the fraudster know you have an idea about what they are about to do and won’t disturb you again.
Report The Number To Your Mobile Money Operator
When a fraudster calls you, one thing you can do is report the number of your mobile money operators. What they will do is track the number and then deal with him.
Never Dial Your Mobile Money PIN After A Fraudster Call
Dialing your mobile money PIN is something you should never do if you don’t want to lose all your money. One thing you should know is these fraudsters have a way of requesting money from your mobile money account even without your permission.
But they can not withdraw it without your PIN, so they will request the money and then call you; their main aim is to trick you into dialing your mobile money PIN.
Even when they call you and you suspect they are fraudsters, don’t check your balance right away, but if you want to do so, you can disable and reenable your network before checking your credit. Doing this cancels all pending transactions. Turning on/off airplane mode is a way of refreshing your network.
You can also read this full guide taking you through how to protect your mobile money account from fraudsters.
Conclusion
Mobile money fraudsters are still finding new ways each day to steal money from mobile money subscribers.
In this article, we went through tricks used by fraudsters to steal mobile cash from people and, in addition, covered what to do after suspecting a caller is a mobile money fraudster.
