MTN Ghana has stepped up its nationwide customer education campaign aimed at tackling mobile money fraud, with a strong focus on reaching local communities through its new initiative, “Shine Your Eye.”
Speaking during a community sensitisation exercise at Agbogbloshie, Abdul Majeed Rufai, Senior Manager for Fintech Channels at MTN Ghana, said the project forms part of the company’s ongoing efforts to protect customers and promote safe digital transactions.
“We have identified education as one of our key strategies in fighting fraud. Apart from our efforts on television and radio, we realised that it’s equally important to take fraud education to the grassroots,
“That’s why we launched Shine Your Eye—to bring fraud awareness to every community across the country,” he explained.
He said MTN teams are currently deployed nationwide, visiting market centres and local communities weekly to educate customers on how to identify and prevent mobile money scams.
The outreach sessions, he noted, combine live demonstrations and drama skits to show how fraudsters operate and how customers can safeguard themselves.
“Very soon, you will see our drama skits that demonstrate how fraudsters operate. We also use these sessions to remind customers of key security practices, such as the fact that no MTN staff will ever call you to request your PIN or OTP,” he emphasised.
Mr. Rufai reiterated that any official communication from MTN comes only from numbers starting with 0244300000, warning customers not to trust callers using other numbers who claim to be MTN representatives.
He also cautioned customers against falling victim to fake promotions, especially during the festive season when fraudulent activities tend to increase.
“We have launched a genuine MTN MoMo promotion with daily, weekly, and monthly prizes, including a grand prize of GHS 100,000 in December. But no customer will ever be asked to pay money to participate or redeem their prize.
“Anyone who demands payment is a fraudster, and customers should disregard such calls,” he stressed.
Mr. Rufai further noted that fraudsters have found new avenues through WhatsApp scams, where they hack into users’ accounts and impersonate them to solicit money from their contacts.
He urged customers to stay vigilant and never share their One-Time Passwords (OTPs) or MTN MoMo PINs under any circumstances.
“An OTP is your one-time password—it’s meant for you alone. It always says do not share. Please take that seriously. Protect your PIN and never allow anyone to do a transaction on your behalf,” he advised.
Highlighting MTN’s ongoing commitment to customer safety, Mr. Rufai disclosed that the company’s systems actively block millions of fraudulent SMS messages targeting customers daily.
“We’re doing our part to safeguard our customers by enhancing platform security and blocking suspicious messages.
But we also need customers to follow three golden rules: do not share your PIN, do not let anyone transact on your behalf, and do not approve any prompt you didn’t initiate,” he stated.
He urged Ghanaians to stay alert, cooperate with MTN’s anti-fraud measures, and spread the message within their communities.
“That’s why we say Shine Your Eye. While MTN continues to invest in fraud prevention, customers also have a role to play by staying vigilant. Together, we can make mobile money safer for everyone,” he noted.
