By Ashraf Saaka
Earlier this week, a Ghanaian woman lost her hard-earned money after being tricked by fraudsters who posed as MTN staff. Social media didn’t wait. The insults came fast; people called her gullible, careless, and even “too old” to be making such mistakes.
Then MTN confirmed it wasn’t a system breach, just social engineering. But instead of standing by the victim, the tone of their response felt more like, “She should’ve known better.”
That’s not just disappointing; it’s dangerous.
In a country where mobile money has become a lifeline, from waakye sellers to Uber drivers, MTN sits at the very top of the ladder. They dominate Ghana’s mobile money space, with millions relying on them daily.
So yes, security is everyone’s job, but MTN’s job is bigger. When you control most of the market, you don’t get to behave like a bystander when things go wrong. You lead. You take responsibility. You fix it.
It’s a question many Ghanaians are quietly asking:
Why is it always MTN? Why aren’t we hearing as many fraud stories linked to the other telcos?
Is it that Vodafone and AT don’t have these problems, or do they just have better systems in place? Or has MTN become so big that they feel untouchable, even when their customers are the ones getting hit?
GSMA’s recent 2024 report on fraud across Africa paints a worrying picture:
– 94% of mobile money fraud involves both insiders and outsiders working together.
– 88% of insider fraud involves staff collaborating with criminals.
Momo Fraud is no longer “one or two bad actors.” This is organized crime.
Social Engineering Isn’t Stupidity. It’s Sophisticated.
Let’s stop pretending victims are always just careless.
Fraud today isn’t what it used to be. These scammers do homework. They sound official, they have so much historical data about your account, and they speak fluent customer service lingo. They don’t just call you and shout, “Send me momo.” They slowly build trust, then strike.
And now, with AI on the rise, the game has changed completely.
We’re entering an era where a scammer can clone your brother’s voice, your boss’s WhatsApp messages, even your mother’s face on a video call. These are not fraud tactics. They are advanced attacks using tools we barely understand yet.
So yes, people will fall for it, not because they’re “dumb,” but because the tech is smarter than most of us.
MTN and all telcos operating in Ghana must be held to global cybersecurity standards. The same way banks are audited and regulated tightly, telcos, especially ones handling money, must face strict oversight. We can’t keep running 2025 problems with 2015 solutions.
Here are some modern Cybersecurity solutions being implemented by key players globally to reduce risk in the financial sector;
Behavioral Analytics and User Risk Scoring: By leveraging AI-driven fraud detection tools, MTN can identify anomalous behavior, like unusual transaction patterns, device changes, or location inconsistencies, and automatically flag or block suspicious activities.
A user risk score model can assign a dynamic risk level to accounts and trigger additional security steps when needed.
Zero Trust Architecture: Trust no one, inside or outside. Implementing Zero Trust means verifying every user, device, and system interaction regardless of origin. Employees and third-party service providers would only have the minimum access necessary to perform their roles.
Insider Threat Monitoring: Deploy tools that monitor internal access and data flow. This could include DLP (Data Loss Prevention), UBA (User Behavior Analytics), and SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) solutions with real-time alerts for suspicious employee behavior.
Before you post that next comment calling someone “foolish” for falling for a momo scam, ask yourself: Is the system built robust enough to protect you?
MTN Ghana is more than just a telecom company, it is a pillar of the nation’s digital economy. As such, it has both the technical capacity and the ethical obligation to lead the charge against mobile money fraud.
By deploying smarter security tools, educating users at scale, and aggressively monitoring insider threats, MTN can build trust, not just in its brand, but in the mobile money system itself.
The road to a safer digital future in Ghana does not begin with pointing fingers at victims. It begins with designing systems that anticipate human error, account for social realities, and protect people before they even realize they’re at risk.
- The author of the article is Enterprise Cybersecurity Consultant and CEO of Ethosec
