Fraudulent Text messaging has emerged as a safe haven for misleading calls on financial prize schemes. Inexperienced mobile phone users are often trapped by SMS mafias who ask for users’ personal details to deliver an expensive gift, car or cash prize.
It is preeminent to note here that those spammers who will not stop doing so, may face legal consequences according to the law. Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has stressed to the public to cooperate and report any such misleading items so that instant action can be taken. Meanwhile, smartphone users can also block such spammers by adding them to blacklisted numbers.
Common scams include:
a) Attempts to gain your personal information
Scammers use all kinds of approaches to steal personal details. Once obtained, they can use the stolen identity to commit fraudulent activities.
b) Impersonating Banks/Organizations
Scammers impersonate genuine organizations such as banks/Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP)/ Ehsas Programme etc. A common fraud technique is that your “ATM has been blocked” and that you should call a number (listed in the message) to get your ATM unblocked.
Another technique used by scammers is to pretend to be representatives of PTA and ask for money in the guise of registration of a mobile device.
c) Threats & extortion
Scammers try to steal identity or money – including threatening the life of the person they are calling. A popular technique used by scammers impersonating Pakistan Army.
d) Cash Transfer/ Sending a code
Scammers invent convincing and seemingly legitimate reasons to lull the receiver of a message or caller into a false sense of security. For example, a popular technique is to send the receiver a message about transferring money into their Easy Paisa or another e-payment account by mistake and to send a certain “code” or “message” back to them.
e) Prize/Lottery Scams
Scammers trick you into giving money or your personal information in order to receive a prize from a lottery or competition that you may have never entered. Such scammers usually impersonate popular TV game show programmes.
Common examples include:
There have been multiple cases, where users were asked to transfer some amount in order to get some bigger prize. Some of the notorious examples of such spammers include:
- Benazir Income Support Program
- Jeeto Pakistan
- Fake lotteries
- Fake Army Officer calls
How to Report Fraudulent SMS/Call?
PTA has asked consumers to report any such SPAM message/call to PTA. If you get any SPAM message or call that you never subscribed to, or any call/SMS that you don’t want to get again – then SMS the following details to 9000:
- Sender’s cell number
- Your cell number
- Any details that you may want to add
- Send this information to 9000 – and leave the rest for PTA.
Note: Charges for sending an SMS to 9000 are 10 paisas (including tax).
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) through a number of public notifications in newspapers, has warned marketers not to send unconsented, unwanted, fraudulent, misleading, SPAM and/or illegal text messages or calls to mobile phone consumers. It is clearly mentioned that appropriate action would be taken against the persons involved in this fraudulent activity.
CxO Forum urges the people of Pakistan to not get trapped in any such scam by following the instructions directed by PTA.
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