Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC) says it is fighting tooth and nail to curb scams while cautioning customers to be vigilant and avoid becoming victims at the hands of unscrupulous scammers.
Fraudsters are using the internet, telephone calls, texts and even visits to people’s homes in their attempts to obtain money or data that could allow them to commit identity theft of sometimes desperate customers.
According to MTC spokesperson, Fikameni Mathias, MTC has become aware of various scams flooding the internet and client cellphones stating that MTC is supposedly giving away free phones, or that a customer has won prize monies in MTC competitions.
In one of the scams clients get a pop-up notification for a survey stating that MTC is supposedly giving away free Samsung Galaxy S10, Apple iPhone XS or Samsung Galaxy S9s. Clients also receive texts from short codes such as (7XXXX) claiming they have won airtime or money, and should call a certain number. According to MTC, a syndicate also targets the elderly by calling their landlines and convincing them (either by claiming their spouse (s) is involved in a car accident and they need information to pay for the ambulance fees etc.) to give their personal information, banking or card numbers, which they use to then register on cellphone payment platforms and thus make transfers or payments.
This scam mostly targets elderly farmers. In some instances, calls are made from private numbers and normal MTC numbers claiming that a customer won money from MTC and they should conduct a cellphone banking transaction to claim their prize. The cybercriminals also contact potential victims through personal or work email accounts, SMS, or other methods in attempt to obtain personal, banking or other valuable personal information. “We hereby caution our customers that MTC will at no time ask you to share your banking card details, PIN number or discuss money transactions processes with you on a call,” said Mathias.
“We urge our customers not to fall into these traps by fraudsters, by practising caution, careful assessment and a bit of gut feeling about the old adage, ‘If it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t true at all’,” Mathias added. He also advised that if someone receives an SMS or a call claiming money has been sent, to contact the respective banking institutions to verify authenticity, through their official contact centres.
“If you receive an SMS or a call from someone claiming that you are a winner in an MTC competition or such, verify such authenticity by calling the MTC Customer Contact Centre at 12000/13000 to verify or report suspicious callers. Remember never give your personal information before verifying the authenticity of what seems to be exciting calls by calling to verify or report suspicious callers,” Mathias advised.
He further urged MTC customers to register their SIM cards in their names at any MTC Mobile Home.