MTN Uganda Hit By Mobile Money Fraud

On the 28th of March 2022; MTN Uganda issued a press release distancing itself from the claims of their customer that allegedly lost 2.7M off their mobile money wallet alluding to a claim that insiders in MTN have access to customers’ secret PINS.

Barely two months since the press release was issued, it has surfaced that from 9th May 2022, a number of mobile money agents in the Kampala metropolitan area have been unable to transact after their accounts were deactivated in response to fraud-related issues.

Our reporters were able to have a chat with one of the mobile money agents that was affected during this whole saga and their response seems very negative. Some of them have even threatened to boycott MTN Mobile money services on grounds that their “float” can go missing at any time without any remedies from MTN Uganda.

On Wednesday this week, we were able to find out from a reliable source that most of this mobile money fraud was being coordinated through the MTN app. MTN customers that use the MTN app can testify that this week the MTN app has been having a lot of issues.

MTN Uganda had earlier advised its clients through the 28th March press release to ensure that they keep their PINs secret and never to share their one-time password (OTP) with anyone. Besides this advice, MTN Uganda has not come out with any other statement accepting liability for any of the mobile money frauds that have surfaced.

It should be noted that there are claims of MTN customers including mobile money agents losing their money under unclear circumstances. Some agents have closed business with money on their MTN accounts only to wake up the next morning to find their accounts have zero balance.

Others have narrated situations where they send money to a given number but it later turns out that upon approval of one transaction, they sent money to five different numbers without their approval! Whether these claims are true or not, one thing is for sure; a number of MTN mobile money agents’ accounts have been suspended in an attempt by MTN Uganda to address fraud.

There is also a school of thought that believes that the current “MTN momo nyabo” promotion is an attempt to cover up the mess of MTN mobile money fraud by getting more people to transact in order to build public trust again.