"I Sent Money to Your Number by Mistake": The MoMo Reversal Scam and How Real Reversals Work

Short answer: if a stranger calls or texts to say they sent MoMo to your number by mistake, do not send anything back until you have checked your real balance in your MoMo menu or app. Never trust the SMS alone. Even if the money really arrived, do not send it to "another number". Tell the person to ask their network for a reversal. MTN, Telecel and AT can move the money back themselves, so you never need to send it yourself.

How does the "sent by mistake" scam work?

It usually starts with a message like this: "Please I mistakenly sent GH¢350 to your number. It is my child's school fees. Kindly send it back, God bless you." Then come the calls, sometimes a crying voice, sometimes threats. These are the common versions:

• The fake alert. No money ever came. The scammer sends an SMS made to look like a MoMo credit alert, with a fake amount and a fake balance. If you "refund" it, you are sending your own money. We explain how to spot these in how to spot a fake MoMo or bank alert.
• The double dip. Real money arrives, often from a stolen or rented wallet. You kindly send it back. Then the scammer also files a reversal with the network, so the network takes the original amount out of your wallet as well. You lose twice.
• The redirect. "Don't send it to this number, send it to my brother's number" or "to my agent's number". This is where most of the money is lost, because the second number has nothing to do with the original transfer.
• The fake customer care follow-up. A second caller says they are from MTN or Telecel and that they will "help you reverse it". They ask for your PIN, or ask you to dial a code or approve a prompt. Real staff never ask for your PIN.

The scam is common enough that MTN's own MoMo fraud-report menu lists "Wrong transfer" and "New Reversal process" among the fraud types customers can report.

How to check if the money really came in

1. Ignore the SMS. Anyone can type a message that looks like an alert, and some scammers change the sender name.
2. Check your balance yourself. On MTN, dial *170# and go to My Wallet, or open the MoMo app. On Telecel Cash or AT Money, use your network's MoMo menu or app. Look at your transaction history, not just the balance.
3. Compare. If your balance did not go up by that amount, there was no transfer. Block the number and report it.

The money really arrived. What should you do?

Keep it where it is. Do not spend it and do not send it anywhere. Reply once, politely: "Please contact your network and request a reversal. If they contact me, I will approve it." A genuine sender will accept that, because the network can return the money without you doing anything risky. A scammer will push, cry or threaten, because the network route does not pay them.

One more warning for traders. Some scammers pay for goods, collect them, then claim the payment was "a mistake" and start a reversal. If the money was payment for something you sold or delivered, do not approve the reversal. Contact your network with proof of the sale.

How real MoMo reversals work on MTN

MTN Ghana's help centre describes a self-initiated reversal for the sender:

1. Dial *170#.
2. Choose 6, My Wallet.
3. Choose 8, Reversal.
4. Select the transaction you want to reverse and confirm.

The person who received the money then gets a prompt asking them to approve. If they approve, the money goes back to the sender automatically. If they do not, MTN says the sender should email customercare.GH@mtn.com with the transaction details, and MTN will hold the money in the receiver's wallet and start its normal reversal process.

That normal process is not instant. MTN MoMo's Chief Regulatory, Risk and Compliance Officer, Godwin Tamakloe, has explained publicly (reported by News Ghana) that reversals cannot be immediate because some people falsely claim a "mistake" after paying willingly, and that MTN verifies cases over about 15 days before acting. If the money has already been withdrawn, recovery is much harder, so the sender should act within minutes, not days.

To report a MoMo fraud on MTN, dial *170#, choose 6 (My Wallet), then 4 (Report Fraud), pick the fraud type and follow the prompts. You can also email mmfraudteam.GH@mtn.com.

How reversals work on Telecel Cash and AT Money

Telecel Cash. Telecel Cash's terms say a customer cannot personally reverse a completed transaction sent in error, and should contact the Customer Call Centre or a Telecel shop. Guides also describe a self-reversal option inside the Telecel Cash menu (*110#) and the TERi chatbot in the Telecel app, but menus change, so confirm with Telecel. Telecel's contact page lists the helpline 100, 050 555 5111, WhatsApp 050 100 0300 and @asktelecelghana on X.

AT Money. AT's customer care page directs customers to call 100 or visit an AT shop. Give them the transaction ID, the amount, the time and the wrong number.

Notice that in every case the receiver never has to "send it back" manually. That is the one fact that defeats this scam.

What if you sent money to the wrong number yourself?

1. Start the reversal straight away (on MTN, *170# > 6 > 8), or call your network on 100.
2. Have the transaction ID, the exact amount, the time and the wrong number ready.
3. You can call the receiver politely and ask them to approve the reversal prompt. Do not ask them to send money to you from their own wallet if a reversal is already running, or you may be accused of the double dip.
4. Keep the SMS and screenshots until the money is back.

Already sent money to a "sent by mistake" scammer?

1. Call your network now on 100 and report fraud. On MTN, also use *170# > 6 > 4 or email mmfraudteam.GH@mtn.com. Ask them to block the receiving wallet.
2. Change your MoMo PIN if you shared it or dialled any code the caller gave you.
3. Report to the Cyber Security Authority: call or text 292, or email report@csa.gov.gh. Report to the police at your nearest station as well.
4. Warn others. Before you reply to any unknown number, check a number, handle or website on TrustCheck, and if it scammed you, report it so the next person sees the warning. Our guide is this number a scam? shows what else to look for.

You can also read what other customers say in the reviews of MTN Ghana and Telecel Ghana on TrustCheck.