Daily Monitor reports that mobile money scammers still work openly and still catch people out, so anyone who moves money by phone should slow down.
Mobile money scammers are not hiding, and they are still taking people's cash. That is the message of a Daily Monitor report, which says the tricks are out in the open and rarely stopped. If you send or receive money with your phone, a fake call or message can cost you in minutes.
Mobile money lets people send and receive cash using only a phone number. No bank branch is needed. That ease is what scammers lean on. According to the report, they pose as trusted senders, agents or company staff, then trick people into paying. The schemes are familiar. What stands out is that they keep working.
Anyone who sends, receives or cashes out money through mobile money services. That includes the small shops and agents who handle it every day. Regular users and the people serving them are both targets.
The alert box above lists the steps. The core idea is simple: slow down and verify before you act. Treat any unexpected call or message about money as suspect until you have checked it through your provider's official channels.
The material available does not say how many people have lost money, how much, or which providers or places are most affected. It also does not say whether any crackdown is planned. Until that is clear, the safest habit is to assume a surprise request for money or codes is a trap.
Before you approve any mobile money payment, stop and verify through your provider's official number, never through the person who contacted you.
Fake PayPal emails and texts, some posing as a security report, try to get you to tap a link and type your login. Checking your account directly avoids the trap.
Read more: Got a fake PayPal message? Skip its link and check your account yourselfSecurity firm Flashpoint says criminals are trading in refund tricks, gift card fraud and hacked online stores ahead of the holidays. Shop owners should check their refund steps.
Read more: Scammers are targeting store refunds and gift cards before the holidaysMorristown police say scammers posing as bank staff are pushing people to withdraw cash, which is very hard to get back once it is handed over.
Read more: Morristown police warn of scam where fake bank staff ask for cash
