MTN is warning its customers about a hoax competition run by fraudsters. Men posing as MTN employees call MTN customers, claiming they have won R50 000. To claim their prize, customers must send their banking details via text messaging.
"Unfortunately, scams of this nature are occurring more frequently," says MTN SA spokesman Rochelle van der Ross. This would be the fourth hoax competition to have been targeted at MTN, she notes.
"As you can imagine, you get different types of hoaxes that are targeted at cellphone users. We try to monitor them and put them on record for future purposes," Ross says.
MTN warns customers not to divulge information to any person who acts for the company without accreditation. "Customers have to be aware and should not give out their personal details, like banking and ID numbers, to anyone on the telephone," Ross says.
"We have had similar scams recently," says Thato Ntai, forensic administrator, MTN Forensic Service. "When you do receive such calls, ask for some type of proof and take down their phone number and their details, but do not give them any personal details."
"The most harmful aspect of this situation is the perceptions about MTN that may be created by the media and the public," says BMI-Techknowledge analyst Ryan Smit.
Smit says if people believe such hoaxes are intrinsic to one specific service provider, then they would question the security of their numbers on that service provider's database. "To be honest, other mobile carriers are also suffering from such hoaxes and fraudsters can acquire people's numbers through various means."
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