While many of us have received the (now famous) "Lottery Emails" which inform of several million pounds prize money, not many of us have received calls on our mobile phones, informing of prizes won.
This has turned into the latest modus-operandi of several fraudsters, so much so that the COAI (Cellular Operators Association of India) has issued a warning to mobile subscribers, informing them against being taken for a ride by fraudulent "prize-winner" calls originating from Pakistan and Dubai.
As per COAI Director-General Mr. T R Dua: "I have been told that in these types of phone frauds, the fraudster pretends to be the representative of a mobile operator and tries to get sensitive personal information from users and also tricks them to pay money on the pretext that the user is the winner of some prize money".
Upon being traced, these calls have been found to have originated from Pakistan or Dubai-based locations, which also has implications on national security.
COAI has listed certain steps which mobile users need to follow, in order to keep themselves safe from any fraud. These include:
- Avoid using the phone's mobile browser to access websites that offer unreliable / questionable content.
- Read carefully the contents of any website before downloading any content.
- Mobile numbers should not be posted on website, unless one is sure of the website being a 'secure' one.
