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MTN warns of competition scam

Candice Jones
By Candice Jones, ITWeb online telecoms editor
Johannesburg, 15 May 2008

MTN customers are being warned not to respond to an SMS or phone call which indicates they have won a Volkswagen Polo.

The company sent out a message to customers yesterday, saying: "MTN would like to inform you of a scam that claims customers can win a VW Polo. Please do not respond to this scam as your personal information may be at risk."

According to MTN GM of client service and retention Megan Ashman, the scammers are luring customers into divulging personal information by presenting, what seems to be, a legitimate sales pitch. In the same call, customers are told they are winners of a VW Polo.

"The customer is contacted again and notified that, in order to take possession of the car, a registration fee of R800 has to be paid into a Postnet account." Once the money has been transferred into the account, the scammer disappears.

The company did not comment on whether it is trying to trace the fraudster, or what further action it would take.

Look out for this

Ashman says MTN will not launch a competition without the backup of a national marketing and publicity campaign on TV, radio or print. Without any publicity, customers can be sure calls about competitions will not be valid.

Secondly, she says the Polo scammers are making calls or sending messages from prepaid numbers. "MTN will never contact a winner from a non-MTN number; all competition winners are notified via a personalised SMS from MTN head office."

And finally, the company says customers will never be asked to pay for the shipping of any prizes won. "All costs involved in getting the prize to the winner are always covered by MTN."

MTN has been aware of the scam for around three to four weeks, having been notified by various sources. Ashman says scams such as these are usually isolated incidents and do not require general notification.

"However, due to the extended period and extent of this scam, MTN has taken the decision to notify its entire customer base of this scam," says Ashman. The company did not indicate how many customers have fallen victim to the scam.

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