Vodacom customers who receive an SMS congratulating them on winning R50 000 cash, airtime and a BlackBerry smartphone are urged not to reply.
The mobile operator warned its customers via Facebook and Twitter this week that an SMS, requiring them to send details to a Vodamail e-mail address in order to claim their sizeable prize from an “International New Yearly Promo”, is not legitimate.
The SMS, which came to Vodacom's attention on Tuesday, reads: “Congratulations!!!! Your number was among the lucky winners on Vodacom International New Yearly Promo. You have won R50 000 and a New BlackBerry Torch, plus R200 Vodacom Airtime.
“Your Ticket No Is: VDC2119F: To claim your prize, kindly send your name and your cell phone number via e-mail to our Promo Department at (vodacomprize@vodamail.co.za) then we will get back to you, please note; every conversation or communication will be done via e-mail for security reasons. We look forward to hear from you, thanks. Regards, Vodacom.”
Vodacom's executive head of media relations, Richard Boorman, says receiving an SMS that “sounds too good to be true” should set off alarm bells. “[It] is no different to getting an e-mail or letter saying that a defunct dictator would like to deposit $(insert huge millions) into your account, and that all he/she needs is your banking details. It pays to be suspicious.”
Boorman, a recipient of the hoax message himself, advises anyone who wants to verify the authenticity of a prize in relation to Vodacom, to get in touch with the operator's call centre or post their query via Facebook or Twitter.
While it has not yet been established how widespread the scam is, Boorman says Vodacom's fraud and risk department will investigate the matter in order to identify its source, and discontinue the correlating number and/or e-mail address.
Share