MTN South Africa has helped police bust a criminal syndicate alleged to be involved in one-time Pin scams.
The mobile operator said on Tuesday that the bust, which happened at the weekend, was made in collaboration with the crime intelligence, commercial crimes and crime prevention units of the South African Police Service.
It followed the execution of a search-and-seizure warrant on properties believed to be the headquarters of these OTP scam syndicates in Eldorado Park, Soweto.
“The successful raid is a result of a coordinated effort by various stakeholders including anonymous tip-offs. Upon the investigation, MTN and the police’s commercial crimes unit obtained search warrants to raid five properties in Eldorado Park believed to be associated with front businesses, suppliers, call centres and operations of an OTP scam syndicate,” MTN said in a statement.
“In most incidents, these criminals claim to be MTN call centre agents. Their modus operandi includes requesting the customer’s security details under the pretence that they were blocking the processing of a fraudulent Sim swap request that was being made on the subscriber’s number without their knowledge or authorisation. The scammers then use the customer’s responses, which they obtained during the call, to access the mobile and/or banking applications to transfer funds illegally,” it said.
MTN described the bust as a “major milestone” in the fight against OTP fraudsters.
“Identity or subscription fraud has unfortunately become a threat impacting network operators and customers around the world, as criminals constantly work to find new ways to circumvent fraud prevention systems.
Cyclical
“The OTP scam is one of the prevalent fraudulent tactics in the telecommunications industry. Fraud in the industry often appears in a cyclical manner, based on what syndicates are targeting, at any given time.”
MTN emphasised that it never contacts customers from its call centre to block the processing of a Sim swap request or to request OTPs.
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“We urge all our customers not to respond to unsolicited calls and requests for their security details from an unknown number. Communication to customers is usually carried via platforms such as social media posts and press statements,” the operator said. – © 2024 NewsCentral Media
