MTN South Africa working with the South African Police Services (SAPS), made a breakthrough over the past weekend by arresting key individuals believed to be involved in a One Time Pin (OTP) scam syndicate. This comes after a successful search and seizure warrant on properties believed to be headquarters of these OTP scam syndicates in Eldorado Park, Soweto.

MTN notes the successful raid is a result of a coordinated effort by various stakeholders including anonymous tip-offs. Upon the investigation, MTN and the 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.

How does it work?

According to MTN, in most of these incidents, 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. OTP scams are among the leading scam tactics used by the criminals.

The company did state it has put several measures in place to mitigate the impact of OTP scams.  In addition, MTN has previously communicated to customers that it would not contact customers from its call centre to block the processing of a SIM swap request or to request for OTPs.  

“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 company said in a statement.

A major breakthrough

“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. At MTN, we aim to protect customers from fraudulent transactions that often originate elsewhere, often through identity theft,” the company noted.

MTN applauded the members of SAPS Crime Intelligence and Commercial Crimes unit for their unwavering support in ensuring that these criminals are brought to the law.