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High and low brought down by scammers
Only a lucky few know that burst of excitement on being told they’ve won a large sum of money. For some it’s a different story, with happiness turning to nightmare when they discover they have fallen prey to a scam.
The victims range from well-educated professionals to farmers.
Menaka Pathirana
“All the complaints received on the subject follow the same pattern,” the Deputy Director of Compliance at the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission, Menaka Pathirana, said.
The culprits randomly dial a number and engage the hapless victim in conversation.
The caller claims that the victim has won a prize in a competition, often making use of a popular competition conducted by a recognised mobile service provider.
The victim is then asked to deposit a sum of money in order to claim the prize; the culprit usually claims that the deposit is needed for tax purposes.
“The money transaction is usually done by asking the subscriber to send the money via EZ Cash or, in rare cases, a bank deposit,” Ms Pathirana said.
The caller’s fluent English and the technical terminology used, together with the background music that is the signature tune of a genuine mobile service provider, hoodwinks the subscriber who is rushed to make a quick decision without a second opinion.
“The caller might tell the victim he has to deposit the money today, else the prize will be lost. The unsuspecting individual is so caught up in the moment that these instructions are followed,” Ms Pathirana said.
During the call the scammer asks the victim for personal information, in most cases asking the person to fax a copy of his or her identity card.
The fax number usually belongs to an established institution, ensuring credibility. Employee at the institution would discard the document, thinking it had been faxed in by mistake.
“Anyone is vulnerable to such a call. Complaints have shown us that the victims range from tax officials and university students to local farmers,” Ms. Pathirana said.
She said a few days ago a student reading for his Master’s degree at the Colombo campus had been rung up and told he had won Rs. 2 million.
He was asked to transfer Rs. 30,000 via EZ Cash to an anonymous number, supposedly in order to cover the taxes levied on the prize.
The conversation was conducted in such a manner that the student was convinced. After the money was sent the caller could not be traced.
A tax officer was duped in similar fashion. The tax officer had told Ms. Pathirana that the caller had used a lot of tax jargon whilst on the phone; this had impressed the officer had led him to believe that his story was genuine.
The officer was told to deposit a sum of money in order to claim the prize and had done so. Neither the money nor the caller could subsequently be traced.
A farmer received a similar call in July. Following the same drill he was asked to deposit Rs. 14,000 in order to claim his prize and had done so only to find that the call was a hoax and the money had vanished.
“Several mobile service providers do have such competitions but a customer would never be required to pay a sum to receive their prize,” Ms. Pathirana said.
In some instances the culprit could be based in another country, an official from the Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Response Team (SLCERT) said.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said a young man had received an email claiming he had won a Mercedes Benz.
The man was asked to deposit Rs. 60,000 at an offshore bank in order to cover the cost of insurance and shipping. He had been told the car was currently in India and if the sum was not deposited within 24 hours the prize would be lost.
The man told the sender he had no such cash on him at the time. The sum had then been reduced to Rs. 10,000 but by this time the man had contacted SLCERT and an unfortunate situation was averted.
The SLCERT official said there were two things to look out for if a person receives such a call.
First, people should be aware that if the call is not from the genuine company’s hotline it could be a fake call. Second, if the call is from an unknown number, the person should call the organisation itself to find out if she/he is the winner.
“It all comes down to common sense,” the official said.
Chanaki Fernando*, 44, related a horrific experience that had nearly cost her a large sum of money.
Two years ago, her course at the Moratuwa campus had sent Chanaki* on an educational trip to Bangkok. No sooner had she returned home than she received a text from an anonymous number claiming she had won a prize of $US40 million.
“I was in shock because this was a large sum of money,” Chanaki said. “The text gave me an email address, asking me to send in my contact and identification details,” she said.
After following instructions she immediately received a response asking her to open an account at a bank in the United Kingdom and deposit £500 needed for “banking fees”.
The email added that the money had to be deposited within a certain time-frame, else the prize would be lost.
“I have to admit I was so caught up in the moment that I nearly obliged with their requests,” Chanaki she said.
A slight suspicion at the back of her mind however had led to contact the SLCERT, which warned her that this was a scam.
*Not her real name.
| Break the silence and report it, police urge Many mobile scam cases go unnoticed because the victims keep silent out of embarrassment or shame, a senior police official said. The culprits are well organised, the officer, said, speaking anonymously. “In most cases the culprit would use a SIM card registered in the name of an innocent party. Anyone can obtain a SIM card today. All a person needs is a copy of an identity card and then a SIM could be purchased,” he said. Once police receive a complaint relating to a mobile phone scam the caller’s number is obtained from the victim. Next, a court order is obtained and the relevant mobile service provider is contacted. This enables police to track down the details of the person with whom the SIM is registered. The officer warned that people need to be more vigilant and not give out personal information. Victims should lodge a complaint at the local police station over swindles of Rs. 300,000 or less. “Every police station has a Fraudulent Crime Investigation Department (FCID) branch that would conduct investigations,” the senior officer said. In the case of sums exceeding Rs. 300,000, the complaints are handed over to the CID. |