Tanzania government has urged citizens to beware of fraudsters who have invaded Airtlel, Tigo, M-Pesa, Easy Pesa and Halopesa mobile money transfer platforms. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
The government has urged citizens to beware of fraudsters who have invaded Airtlel, Tigo, M-Pesa, Easy Pesa and Halopesa mobile money transfer platforms.
Criminals have invaded Tanzania’s leading mobile money transfer platforms.
The government has urged citizens to beware of fraudsters who have invaded Airtlel, Tigo, M-Pesa, Easy Pesa and Halopesa mobile money transfer platforms.
Tanzanians moved Tsh13.07 trillion ($5.4 billion) in the months of November and December last year involving mobile money transfer platforms.
Police and the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) said a number of cases related to fraud through mobile money transfers are being investigated across the country.
Police and TCRA said the reported fraud came in many forms but the rampant one is calls to unsuspecting people being told they had won non-existent prizes.
“Some were asked to release their mobile money pin numbers and their money was withdrawn after that,” Mr Mwakyanjala said.
He said in some cases victims received phone messages purportedly from telcos informing them that they mistakenly received money in their mobile accounts and so must immediately refund that money to the “sender.”
“If you get a phone call instructing you to send money even if to a person you know, call that person using another number first to confirm that information,” reads a statement the regulator released last week.
A report released by the Bank of Tanzania two years ago had placed Tanzania at the ahead of its East African neighbours in mobile money with registered users of mobile payment services having grown by 30 per cent between 2013 and 2014.
The ratio of adults using mobile phones for money transactions had reached 84 per cent, surpassing Kenya, whose usage then stood at 68 per cent.
