Let's Automate the World

Of late, there has been a notable increase in the number of phishing calls to UAE mobile subscribers, as reported in the media. Notably originating from countries such as Pakistan & Nepal.

The caller will inform the mobile user has won a lottery or something, and need to send certain amount by credit, give credit card details, etc. to process the prize money and send to the winner. In order to win the trust of the receiver, they might even provide some of your personal details (which they might have googled from the internet or picked up from social networks, job portals or even telephone lists)

Beware, if you receive any such calls, do not answer or call back. First, these may be premium-charge numbers which will be charged many times the normal rates for access. Secondly, the information or money that they collect will be money lost forever.

I have received 3 missed calls from the following numbers:
+92 34 37398744
+92 34 68974847
+92 34 26602492

It seems logical that any calls from numbers starting with +92 34 should be ignored outright.

Scam artists target etisalat subscribers
By Abbas Al Lawati, Staff Reporter, Gulf News
Published: January 08, 2009, 23:38

Dubai: Etisalat mobile subscribers are being targeted by fraudsters posing as the employees of the telecom provider saying they have won cash prizes in order to extract bank details from them, Gulf News has learned.

Subscribers of the telecom company have complained about receiving phone calls from Pakistan based numbers notifying them of prizes they have won and asking for personal account details to transfer the amounts.

The suspected fraudsters, however, do not seem to be very sophisticated.

They often leave missed calls and ask their potential victims if they can speak Hindi, Urdu or Bengali, as those are the only languages they speak.

"When I returned the missed call and was told that I had won $100,000 (Dh367,300). I asked the other party why etisalat would give me a missed call from a Pakistani number. It was clear from the very beginning that this was a case of fraud," said Vikas VR, an etisalat mobile subscriber from India.

Vikas however decided to play along. "They asked for my address and I told them to send it to my office. They pretended to take it down but when I asked them to repeat it, they cut the line," he said.

etisalat said it was unaware of this and cautioned clients not to be duped.

"Fraud [over] SMS and emails has unfortunately become a reality. etisalat sincerely advises its customers to be careful not to divulge any confidential information," an official said.

etisalat issues fraud warning
By Kevin Scott, Staff Reporter, Gulf News
Published: February 01, 2009, 22:57

Dubai: The country's largest telecommunications provider is warning customers to be aware of fraudsters.

etisalat issued an alert on Sunday after learning that scammers were contacting UAE residents from Pakistan-based numbers (country code: 92) and asking them to either transfer credit, share their PIN number or provide personal information in return for the chance to win a huge cash prize.
etisalat confirmed on Sunday that it is not running a raffle or lucky draw campaign and urged customers to remain vigilant against such calls. Last week, Mobily also issued an alert, urging its customers to beware of fraudsters.