WHY ARE MOBILE MONEY SCAMMERS TARGETING THE AIRTEL NETWORK?

MOBILE money services are a major contributor to financial inclusion in Zambia but they are also a target for criminals and fraudsters. Mobile money systems are vulnerable to a range of fraudulent activities including technical breaches and social manipulation.

Fraudsters may use psychology to take advantage of users, knowing that people may send money during paydays. It is also true that mobile money providers have lower security checks than traditional banking systems.

All countries in the world experience scamming and the vulnerability extends to even the established traditional banking system and this is not only peculiar to Zambia.

However, there are more rampant scamming cases on mobile money than traditional banking services in Zambia. Scamming can have several negative effects on individuals and the broader economy.

Victims of mobile money scams can suffer significant financial losses as scammers may steal money from their mobile money accounts or trick them into sending money to fraudulent accounts.

Mobile money scams can erode trust and confidence in mobile money services and financial institutions, leading to decreased usage and adoption of mobile money platforms. Being a victim of a mobile money scam can have a psychological impact on individuals, causing stress, anxiety, and a sense of vulnerability.

Further, mobile money scams can disrupt financial transactions and cause inconvenience to individuals who rely on mobile money for everyday transactions and service providers may suffer reputational damage as a result of scams, leading to loss of customers and trust in their services.

Overall, mobile money scamming can have far-reaching consequences for individuals, businesses, and the economy, highlighting the importance of implementing effective measures to prevent and combat such fraudulent activities.

This is where mobile money service providers should be worried. Of course we are not here to blame any single mobile money service provider but merely putting issues into perspective because if we continue watching things getting out of hand, we will not solve the problem.

One of the reasons mobile money scammers are targeting Airtel clients is that Airtel is one of the largest mobile network operators in Zambia and scammers may target networks with a larger customer base in order to reach more potential victims.

Airtel’s brand visibility and popularity may make it a more attractive target for scammers looking to exploit the trust and familiarity associated with the network but this is not the main reason scammers are targeting Airtel. The major reason could be a lack of enhanced security measures which easily allow scammers to exploit the network and terrorise the customers with much ease.

Airtel may have weaker security measures in place compared to other networks, making it easier for scammers to operate undetected and the fact that Airtel’s user base may include a higher proportion of vulnerable or less tech-savvy individuals who are more likely to fall for scams, exacerbates the situation.

To make things worse, we have not seen any deliberate undertaking not only by Airtel, but all mobile service providers in Zambia towards enhancing and sealing off any loopholes being exploited by the scammers and to crown the mischief off, we have a Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA) that seems clueless on how to deal with the most basic threats in its space.

It is laughable that we have a regulator which scammers even flirt with by reporting their potential victims who prove to be knowledgeable of their scams. We have had incidents where a failed fraud would result in the victim being reported by the scammer to ZICTA using its *707# and without taking any due diligence to even understand what transpired between the two parties, an innocent subscriber’s number could be blocked by the same regulator.

It is a shame that the same ZICTA that is supposed to look into our plight, is now the one that seems to be more confused than the targeted subscribers and this leaves little room for protection.

Airtel and other mobile service providers must not sit and watch the situation deteriorate. They must adjust and tighten their safety valves to ensure that a customer is at least cushioned against these scammers. No one is saying Airtel or other mobile service providers can manage to block all the scammers from their network but it would be important to relook into their security features and update them from time to time to protect their clients.

Some of the scams being propagated look like they are organised and people have complained but nothing seems to move these providers. For example, only someone who has access to the system can know that someone has received money and initiate the process to steal from them. Anyone outside the system cannot be privy to this sensitive information which is only supposed to be known by the account holder and the service providers.

Some customers have complained that sometimes, soon after receiving money in their mobile accounts, attempts are made to defraud them and if this is anything to go with, it simply means only the person within the mobile service provider or those who may have been part of the system could be privy to this information and that still brings the question of security.

If a former employee of a service provider, for example, can be privy to information to the system they worked under, what would prevent them from exploiting it for personal gain? The point here is that service providers must not just watch their clients being scammed. They must improve their security features especially on mobile money services.

These mobile service providers must invest in improving their security protocols and systems to detect and prevent fraudulent activities on their network. They should also vigorously educate their customers about common scams and how to identify and avoid them. This can be done through SMS alerts, email notifications, and educational campaigns.

They must also implement stricter customer verification processes to ensure that only legitimate users are accessing their services as well as provide easy ways for customers to report suspicious activity and block known scammers from contacting their customers.

Mobile money service providers can work closely with law enforcement agencies to identify and prosecute scammers operating on their network. By implementing these measures, they can help protect their customers from falling victim to scams and maintain a secure network environment.

For ZICTA, sometimes we wonder what job these people do. If they can mistake a victim for a scammer and block their phone number, then we can safely say they are good-for-nothing. Otherwise, a serious regulator would never work on guesswork as if they do not have the means and ways of detecting who is misbehaving in their space.