By Anna Shilongo
WINDHOEK
Senior public relations manager at Telecom Namibia Oiva Angula says there is a multiplication in the ranks of self-appointed “consultants” purporting to be Telecom employees who cheat the company’s clients and then disappear into thin air.
Amongst them is a certain “David” who apparently calls Telecom clients telling them they would get a rebate on their phone bills.
“‘David usually goes on to say, ‘Good day, I am calling from Telecom Namibia in connection with your telephone account.’ Beware of such calls,” said Angula.
Telecom Namibia would like to caution its customers to be aware of fake consultants who claim they can help desperate clients with their telephone accounts.
Angula urged Telecom customers to always verify the credentials of so-called consultants before they engage their services.
He explained that Telecom does not use consultants.
“We have regional officers countrywide and we advise our members to use our regional officers if they have any queries,” explained the Telecom manager.
He said a number of customers informed their offices that they had received such calls during the past two weeks from a person masquerading as a Telecom Namibia employee in an apparent bid to con them.
” No matter what we call them – con artists, con men, scamsters – they are criminals and the public must be weary of such elements to avoid being ripped off,” said Angula.
In all cases, he said, the mysterious caller requested customers for their bank account details, claiming that Telecom Namibia has had a “problem” on its billing system and has thus “overcharged” them, and then promising to refund them as soon he gets the bank details.
“In this case, the more you are asked to provide your bank account details to a stranger, the more reason to back off,” said Angula.
He cautioned customers that Telecom does not do refunds on customer accounts without a physical visit from the customer himself/herself to “one of our Teleshops where he/she is required to complete a credit refund form”.
” Furthermore, Telecom Namibia does not employ a person by the name of David in either one of our Teleshops countrywide or our Credit Management Department at the Head Office in Windhoek,” he stressed.
He advised customers to get the number of the calling party and to report such cases to Telecom Namibia immediately.