By Sarah Baafi
A growing wave of Mobile Money fraud in Ghana has taken a troubling turn, with scammers now impersonating trusted brands like DStv to deceive unsuspecting users. One of the latest victims is award-winning actress and media personality, Joselyn Dumas, who has come forward to share her experience.
According to Joselyn Dumas, the incident began when she attempted to upgrade her DStv subscription. She believed she was speaking to a legitimate customer service representative, as the caller was calm, professional, and highly convincing.
The caller claimed there was a system issue and sent her a link, instructing her to input her details to complete the transaction. Although she initially questioned why her PIN was required, the scammer quickly created urgency insisting there were only seconds left to fix the issue due to system downtime.
Under pressure, she complied.
A second link followed shortly after, with further instructions to input sensitive information and confirm a generated code. Trusting the process, she followed through unaware she was giving full access to her Mobile Money account.
Within moments, the fraudster had taken control of her MTN MoMo wallet, draining her funds and even activating an “Extra Pay” feature, which allows transactions to go through even without sufficient balance worsening the financial impact.
Dumas later revealed that what shocked her most was how common these scams have become. Many Ghanaians, she noted, have fallen victim to similar tactics, losing various amounts sometimes as “small” as GH₵100, but still significant.
Her story highlights a dangerous trend: scammers are no longer relying on crude tactics but are now mimicking reputable companies, using urgency and trust to manipulate victims within seconds.
She is urging the public to remain vigilant and never share their PINs or sensitive information,no matter how legitimate the request may seem.
The incident also raises serious concerns about brand impersonation, with calls for DStv and telecom providers like MTN to strengthen public awareness and fraud prevention measures.
As Mobile Money continues to be a vital financial tool for millions, her experience serves as a stark warning: in today’s digital space, one careless moment can cost everything.
