Mobile money scams in Cameroon and how to avoid them

Common against sellers. A "buyer" says they have paid, and you receive an SMS that looks like a mobile money confirmation. You hand over the goods — but the SMS came from an ordinary phone number, not from your operator, and no money ever arrived.

Rule: never trust an SMS or a screenshot. Always check your real balance through the official menu (*126# for MTN MoMo, #150# for Orange Money) or your operator's app before delivering anything.

Someone calls or texts, very polite or very upset, saying they sent you money by mistake and begging you to send it back. Sometimes a fake SMS supports the story; sometimes real money was sent using a stolen account and will later be reversed.

Rule: check your real balance. If money really did arrive by mistake, do not send it back yourself — tell the person to contact the operator, who can reverse the transaction properly.

A caller claims to be from MTN, Orange or a bank. Your account will be "blocked", you "won a promotion", or there is a "problem with a transaction" — and to fix it they need your PIN or a code you just received by SMS.

Rule: your operator will never ask for your PIN or secret code. Anyone who asks for it is a scammer. Hang up and call the official customer service number yourself.

The seller takes full payment by transfer and then disappears, or asks for more and more "fees" before delivering. This is the scam that escrow payment is designed to stop.

• Never share your PIN or any code received by SMS — with anyone.
• Check your real balance via *126# (MTN) or #150# (Orange), never via an SMS or screenshot.
• Do not "refund" wrong transfers yourself; send people to the operator.
• Be suspicious of urgency, prizes and threats of blocking.
• When buying online, use a payment that is held until you confirm delivery.

On Buyam Sellam, buyers pay through the official MTN Mobile Money or Orange Money payment prompt on their own phone, and the payment is confirmed directly with the payment provider, not by an SMS or a screenshot. Sellers never have to guess whether a payment is real: the order only shows as paid when the money has actually been received and is being held. And the buyer's money is only released to the seller after the buyer confirms delivery.