Tips on How to Avoid Mobile Money Fraud and Keep your Account Safe

Many people have fallen victim to mobile money fraud. People have lost large sums of money because of this menace. How do they do it? Sometimes they send you messages claiming to have sent money to your account by mistake, expecting you to send it back, they prompt cash-out transactions without your consent, and they steal customer’s sim cards and sometimes even impersonate telecom agents.

Their tricks abound and you might have probably fallen victim once or twice, how then do you keep your account safe against these thieves? Read on to find out ways to protect yourself and your money.

Educate Yourself.

When mobile money fraud started, a lot of people fell victim due to sheer ignorance. Even now, a lot of people are still oblivious to the tricks used by these scammers. Learn and teach older people how to initiate and confirm transactions by themselves.

Sometimes, the fraudster is your agent, do not share your Pin code with your agent just because you do not know how to go about the transactions. Be sure to educate yourself enough to be able to carry out transactions on your own.

Read your mobile money messages diligently. If you are unable to read, show it to someone else. Sometimes when these fraudsters send their fake message, it comes with grammatical errors and the likes, which makes it very easy to identify. Hence, reading messages well before taking any action can help.

Your Pin is your secret

You are not supposed to share your 4 digit pin code with anyone, not even your children. That is why educating yourself and learning to carry out transactions on your own is very important. That way, you would not have to share your pin with an agent.

Even if you do, be sure to change your pin code later. 

Choose a strong pin, date of birth, 0000,1111, or the last four digits of your phone number is a big NO, choose a pin that cannot be easy to decipher. Do not save this pin on your phone, because, should someone hack into your phone, they will be able to see it.

Check your account regularly

Be sure to regularly check your account especially before you take any action. Fraudsters will call and ask you to send back the money they had sent to you. Check your account to make sure the money is really in there, if it’s not, do not act.

Check your statements, especially if you notice any mishap with your account. The statement can reveal your last three to four transactions, you can then discover whether someone has tampered with your account or not.

Lock your sim card

Yes, it is possible, you can lock your sim card. Fraudsters can steal your mobile phone or your sim card and try to withdraw money from your account. When your sim card is locked, no one can have access to anything network related on your phone. How do you do it;

• Go to settings
• Tap on ‘More’
• Select Security
• Select Sim Card lock
• Tap ‘Lock Sim Card’
• Enter the default sim pin
• Tap ‘Ok’

Be sure to lock your Sim Card to protect your account.

Report Fraudsters.

Call 100 on all mobile money networks to report any fraudulent activity. They might be able to trace the fraudster and retrieve your money for you and that is only 50 percent of the time. These fraudsters are quick to withdraw your money when they get the chance.

Report unsolicited calls as well.

Be alert at all times, they are changing their tricks because many people are focused these days. Stop being a victim, protect your account today.