No EcoCash Transaction Can Complete Without A PIN

Leonard Sengere Avatar
Phone showing EcoCash USSD menu

In times like these you wonder, ‘what’s the point of social media?’ It is the convenience and cost savings we seek out but the package seems to come tied in with those who delight in causing panic. Like the joker, some people just want to watch the world burn.

For most who read the ‘news’ on social media that people can access other people’s EcoCash wallets without PINs, it was clear that it was fake news from the onset. Problem is that quite a good number did believe the fake news. They panicked, as they were wont to do.

Econet and various other news outlets assured people that they had nothing to worry about. The fake news continued to spread regardless. Econet has had to make statement after statement trying to convince people that a PIN is required for any transaction. The latest statement reads,

Kindly note that the short code on social platforms is false. Please disregard it as EcoCash does not allow access to people’s accounts without asking for a pin code. The *151*# EcoCash menu allows customers the convenience of instantly accessing the top level menu. Please note that all transactions on EcoCash cannot complete without a pin. A transaction cannot be successfully made using *151*#. It gives you an error message that reads General fail exception at the end. As long as you keep your PIN private there is no need to worry because with EcoCash your funds are always secure.

On Twitter EcoCash Zimbabwe has had to pin the following statement,

Econet's statement on EcoCash

Seeing as the fake news spread on social media it makes sense that Econet would repond on social media. The only problem is that for some reason, fake news spreads faster and farther than true news. The true account is yet to reach some which is where I think Econet can do better.

They should have sent out SMSs assuring people that there was nothing to worry about. That way they would make sure every single Econet subcriber got that message.

It could be that they did but those SMSs got lost in the clutter. Any Econet customer will tell you that getting multiple SMSs a day comes with the priviledge of owning an Econet line. You could unsubscribe to those SMSs but most have severe cases of ‘Fear Of Missing Out.’ It is times like these that you realise Econet has to change its SMS policy.

12 comments

  1. Allaz

    When you forward a lie you are also a LIAR – PLAIN AND SIMPLE! Fake news spreaders now try to hide under the statement “forwarded as received” and I wonder if they ever bother to spread the TRUE version to the same groups and networks when they find out that what they sent out was false.

    1. Leonard Sengere

      That’s the problem we have, the one you called, ‘forwarded as received.’ One doesn’t bother to check if it’s true before spreading it. Then when they finally realise it was false news they simply exclaim, ‘oh.’ They do not have the decency to then forward the true version.

  2. NYADZISO CHIYANGWA

    You can check limits without a pin *151*7*2*1# it doesn’t ask for pin.

    1. cypher

      is that a transaction ?

    2. Anonymous

      you check limits and then what

  3. 1

    In the corporate, diplomatic and customer care world you say without a pin it cant!, in the security world we say i have’t noticed a compromise yet

  4. Sagitarr

    This is a security fllaw as it gives the Daily ($500) & Monthly ($20000) limits without requesting a PIN. This means anyone with access to your phone/SIM card can see this info. Banking info is private & should be protected by a PIN. This leads me into believing that there are other flaws lurking around in this application.

    1. Imi Vanhu Musadaro

      What is private about those limits?

      1. Anonymous

        Nice Question

      2. Sagitarr

        Initially they are the same for everyone and get reduced as one uses up credit from the bank or EW. Credit history is private. I wouldn’t want anyone who handles my phone to know how much I owe the bank or EW.

  5. Sagitarr

    Sorry the daily limit is $5000…

  6. Anonymous

    my question is if this was fake news why is it not possible to use it now that it has been ‘exposed’. the response you get is please dial *151# to access Ecocash services.
    i tried it the day of the msg and i could get to the menu. #thinkingoutloud

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