Insurance is the safety net for when prevention fails. Prevention is still worth your ten minutes.

The list

  1. Never share your MoMo PIN — not with family, not with "MTN customer support", not even with someone claiming to be your bank.
  2. Lock your phone — PIN, fingerprint, or face unlock. The single biggest after-theft protection.
  3. Set up MoMo SMS confirmations — you get a text on every debit, so unauthorised transactions are spotted in seconds.
  4. Use MTN's "fraud freeze" — dial *170*5# and put a temporary block on outbound transfers if you lose your phone.
  5. Set a low daily transfer limit — caps the damage from any single fraud event.
  6. Ignore "you've won a prize" SMS — MTN never asks for your PIN over SMS or phone.
  7. Verify any number that calls claiming to be MTN — hang up, then dial *124# from the menu to talk to real support.
  8. Check your transaction history weekly — anomalies are easiest to dispute when they're fresh.
  9. Be careful with your SIM — for SIM swap protection, set up the optional "SIM swap lock" on your line.
  10. If something feels off, freeze first, ask later — *170*5# is reversible. Drained accounts aren't.

What to do the moment fraud happens

  1. Freeze your MoMo via *170*5#
  2. Call MTN customer support: 100
  3. File a police report (you'll need it for the claim)
  4. File your insurance claim — every minute counts for evidence