South Africa: Beware of SIM swap scam
MTN warn customers about the latest scam doing the rounds (Image credit: http://tygervalley.co.za/ via Google.com)
In a statement released on Monday morning, South African telecommunications service provider, MTN, warned its subscribers to beware of the latest scam doing the rounds in the country.
How it works
A supposed MTN call centre agent requests the customer’s security details under the pretext that they are blocking the processing of a SIM swap request that is being made on the subscriber’s number without their knowledge or authorisation.
“The scammers will then use the customer’s responses that they obtained during the call to perform a fraudulent SIM Swap. It is important for customers to know that MTN will not contact customers from its call centre to block the processing of a SIM swap request,” read the statement by the company.
MTN in the statement highlighted the key aspects of the SIM swap process that customers should be aware of:
When performing a SIM swap, customers have a couple of options available to them. For post-paid: customers are required to visit a MTN store to activate their SIM swap, and they will be required to produce an ID document. For pre-paid: customers are able to process a SIM swap via a USSD code, call centre or by visiting a MTN store. When opting to visit a MTN store, subscribers will be required to produce a ID document. Subscribers who choose to activate remotely will be required to complete security questions.
The statement concluded by ensuring customers that MTN is in a “continued quest to combat fraud and scams, again we urge our customers not to respond to unsolicited calls and requests for their security details from an unknown number.”
Staff Writer
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