MTN South Africa, in collaboration with Police Crime Intelligence, Commercial Crimes, and other Crime Prevention units, has announced a breakthrough after several suspects were arrested, believed to be involved in a One Time Pin (OTP) scam syndicate.

A successful search and seizure warrant was executed this weekend on properties believed to be the headquarters of these OTP scam syndicates in Eldorado Park, Soweto.

MTN says the raid came as a result of a coordinated effort by various stakeholders including anonymous tip-offs.

After search warrants were obtained, five properties in Eldorado Park were raided, believed to be associated with front businesses, suppliers, call centres and operations of the OTP scam syndicate.

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.

This is a major milestone for MTN and a victory for all our customers who are regularly being targeted by these criminals. OTP scams are among the leading scam tactics used by the criminals.

MTN says 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 OTP scam is one of the prevalent fraudulent tactics in the telecommunication industry.

Fraud in the telecommunication industry often appears in a cyclical manner, based on what syndicates are targeting, at any given time.

MTN has urged all customers not to respond to unsolicited calls and requests for their security details from an unknown number.

Communication with customers is usually carried via platforms such as social media posts and press statements.

Customers who wish to report fraud or any suspicious activity should contact MTN Fraud on the following channels:

• Fraud@mtn.com or CRFraudqueries@mtn.com
• Call 083 135 and choose the fraud desk option.
• In addition, the MTN website has a fraud information section, it can be found here.