Over the past 15 years, one topic that I have used this column to address so often is the dangers of scammers or fraudsters tricking people to part with huge sums of money through mobile money fraud, phishing or investment scams.
But, as you probably know, a man cannot be careful enough!
On Sunday, September 7, I fell victim to these fraudsters, scammers, losing GH¢5,848.00 (Five thousand eight hundred and forty-eight Ghana cedis) in the process.
It all started when I felt the urge to have pizza around 4.50 pm that day. Not having the number of a pizza house at hand to call, I decided to search online for one, the nearest pizza joint to order from.
In fact, that wasn’t the first time that l had resorted to the Internet to pick a contact number and order pizza to be delivered to me at home or to pick it up from the nearest pizza shop.
On this occasion, searching online, 0270983903 popped up as the contact for Papa’s Pizza so I went ahead to call.
It was duly answered as Papa’s Pizza, Tema, and the supposed “client relation officer” at the end of the call took me through the menu, and what I was looking for was mentioned so I felt comfortable. Comfortable in the belief that I was dealing with Papa’s Pizza. How wrong!
Where I got it wrong and duly fell for the scam was when I was asked whether I would like to pay before delivery and to give a unique pick-up number.
It was at this time that I got compromised in the whole scam as I kept clicking on links to confirm order, and within minutes, I saw withdrawals from my mobile money wallet.
They exhausted the wallet, and the truly accomplished scammers now started trying bank accounts to see whether
I had a linked account. And they got one, withdrawing further GHS5000 from the bank account into my mobile money wallet and transferring these amounts to a Telecel Cash number- 0209002827.
All this while, like fighting an inferno, I was on the phone, frantically explaining to MTN the situation going on and the need for them to block my mobile money wallet to avoid further withdrawals.
The speed with which MTN acted prevented further withdrawals so the last push the scammers made from my bank account to the mobile money wallet stayed because they could not transfer it out to their Telecel Cash account.
As you can see, there were three mobile money operators involved here but I wouldn’t like to talk about the other two, suffice it to add that despite my efforts to get the account into which the money was transferred blocked so that the scammers would not be able to take the money out, that did not happen and the scammers cashed it out nicely and neatly!
But I got some hard truths from this experience as soon as words like “Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do about it” came into the picture. What are the big lessons? First, let me pose this question:
How safe are we when we link our mobile money wallets to our bank account? Well, for me, I had even forgotten that that account was even linked to my mobile money wallet in the first place until the scammers reminded me.
It wasn’t a mistake that it was linked. No. I now remember that when I set up the accounts, some financial services options were offered and I was happy to go along with them.
And that included linking the account to your mobile money wallet, so I did fully consent to this, but until the reminder from the scam, I had never used it for any serious transaction, that is pushing large sums from my account to my mobile money wallet to make payment.
I would rather pay directly from my bank account to a mobile money wallet of a third party if I had to make a payment. So was it really necessary for me to accept the option of linking my mobile money wallet to my bank account?
With hindsight and the experience I have now, it wasn’t really necessary as it rather increased my risk and exposed me in a big way to the scammers.
What I would add is that just as risk pervades finance much the same way that gravity pervades physics, make sure that you always have in place all the risk-mitigating measures when it comes to your finances.
I have lost money, that is for sure, but the lesson gained is valuable. I have therefore delinked my mobile wallet from my bank account as I have experienced how the potential pitfall could be dire. Besides, I don’t have any direct control over that risk should I become a victim again.
The next lesson is a big one, and that is the question of how prepared the mobile money operators (the big telcos) are in dealing with fraud.
I didn’t have enough comfort on this issue during my interaction with them in trying to address my predicament.
The fraudsters seem ahead and something needs to be done about it. At some point, it was like I was trying to teach a customer representative what to do! That is not good enough.
As I mentioned earlier, MTN did a great job with the speed with which they handled the situation by preventing further looting, and that I am grateful for. But overall, a lot of education needs to be done.
There are great adverts running to help us, consumers, on radio and television, including some online sources but a lot more needs to be done because of the dynamic and ever-changing landscape the fraudsters create.
If someone like me, highly sophisticated in my dealings online, has fallen victim to a scam, then there are a lot more people out there wailing under the evil sword of scammers.
The case is not ended yet, though. I am still engaging the telcos to see if there is a way the scammers could be arrested. My mission is not about the recovery of the loot but to prevent them from scamming other people.
It is a crusade also to ensure that the telcos really get ahead of the curve and not behind because these scammers seem to be graduating with honours from the school of scamming where they are taught so well.
With fraud on the rise, let us all be careful about our footprints online, and stay extra vigilant when ordering services online, especially where you are required to pay before delivery.
Criminals are utilising growth in technological innovations in recent years to turn the Internet into a very dangerous place to play, or using popular brands to deceive unsuspecting clients.
So let’s be vigilant! But can a man be careful enough? Well, still be careful.
Source: GraphicOnline
