MTN Ghana Is Siphoning My Credit

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In Ghana, telephone numbers tend to serve two purposes.  Besides their primary function, they're also the means by which most people save and transfer electronic money or "momo" (i.e. mobile money), as it's called in this part of the world.

The reason I'm bringing that up is to clarify certain terminology.  When someone speaks of "credit" or "airtime", they're referring to the account set aside for phone calls.  But when they speak of "momo", that's actual electronic cash that can easily be converted into physical money.

As of late, MTN Ghana has been siphoning my airtime.  If I purchase credit for phone calls and let it sit for a while, the account will start deducting on its own.  For example, the GH₵1.50 I deposited yesterday has gradually disappeared, even though I haven't made any calls.

The logical assumption would be that these funds are being deducted by subscriptions.  But let me state with confidence that I am not subscribed to anything.  I'm literate and experienced enough not to fall for those popup or SMS subscription scams.

Of course, GH₵150 is not a lot of money.  If your account is affected by these worms, you have to be wise enough to top-up only small amounts, just to make the phone call you need, as the remaining balance may disappear.  But here's why the situation bothers me so much, besides the obvious reason of becoming distrustful towards Ghana's leading telecom.

First, I've already had this problem before, big time, though with Vodafone (which is now Telecel).  That situation was even worse.  So now that another telecom is doing it, it's making me think this is something systemic, i.e. them jacking the credit of select customers, because it doesn't happen to everyone.

Relatedly, if that is the case, then how many customers are they doing this to, and how money are they making from doing it?  Like who's monitoring these dudes anyway?

CONCLUSION

On that note, I'm now thinking of calling customer service and making a complaint.  Maybe they have me subscribed to services that deduct small amounts daily, even though I never willingly signed up for them.

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