Telecom firm MTN has announced person’s who use their phone for mobile money fraud will be blocked from using their device across all networks in Ghana.
The move is part of an initiative being rolled out by telecom operators to address the menace of mobile money fraud across the country.
According to data from the cybercrime unit of the Ghana Police Service, over 300 mobile money fraud incidents were reported in 2019, with losses ranging from GHC 70.00 to GHC 4,000.00.
Speaking at an Editors Forum on Friday (20 August), CEO of MTN Serlorm Adadevoh said ““So what we’ve done is that today if you commit fraud with a particular phone, that phone within a matter of hours will be blocked across all networks in Ghana, not the SIM but the phone.”
“So, if you are a fraudster what that means is that you will keep buying phones and that’s very costly.”
“In addition to that, we are working with the Ghana Police Service to arrest fraudsters so they go through the prosecution process,” Selorm said.
MTN according to the CEO has collaborated with other stakeholders to ensure it makes the menace of mobile money fraud less attractive to fraudsters.
“So far we’ve all seen and I’m sure you can attest that the complaints of MoMo fraud has gone down and this is due to a number of things we have done like collaborating with our partners the Ghana Telecoms Chamber. “
“Together we have formed an alliance and created a barrier that makes being a fraudster very hard.” he said.
MTN to roll out 5G
Meanwhile Selorm Adadevoh, the chief executive officer of MTN has said the telecoms giant is poised to roll out 5G in Ghana next year.
Speaking at the MTN@25 Business Executive Breakfast series on Wednesday (18 August) on the theme: “Conversations with MTN Ghana – 25 Years of Brightening Lives and Beyond”, Adadevoh said the telco has always been at the forefront of technology innovation.
The MTN CEO said his outfit will ensure that the new innovation delivers value to its stakeholders in Ghana.
Adadevoh added that MTN is currently focused on becoming a complete Digital Operator by 2023, while pursuing its Agenda 2025 strategy to drive the digital Ghana agenda.
“MTN has for the past 25 years been at the forefront of technology innovation in Ghana, having been the first to bring GSM, 2G, 3G, 4G, Mobile Money and hopefully 5G by next year.”
