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Now, e-cheats Resort to ‘Get-rich-quick’ SMS

DUBAI - After the infamous Nigerian email lottery scams, some residents of the UAE say they have received similar ‘get-rich-quick’ messages on their cell phones.

The messages, sent from international numbers, announce lottery wins and return calls made to these numbers could result in huge phone bills, say the residents.

“I recently got an SMS from an unfamiliar international number which said I had won a Mercedes Benz in a German lottery. The message was sent from German Motors International and seemed quite genuine,” says Mohammed Ali, a Dubai resident.

“All I was required to do was call back on the contact number that was listed in the SMS. But when I called, there was a man speaking a different language which I could not understand and, after a while, we both gave up trying to make each other understand,” he added.

Ali says he was shocked to see the bill for the three-minute call. “I was charged Dh18, more than the usual charges for the call duration,” he added.

Fahdi Aziz, a Dubai-based university student, describes a similar incident. “Last month, I was sent a ‘lottery win’ message from an unknown international sender, which sounded quite lucrative. I do not normally believe in such notices because I am aware of the scam mails. But this was the first time I received an SMS announcing a win,” said Aziz.

“I called back the number in a European country and reached a dead end with a female at the other end since I could not understand the language,” he said, adding that the call cost him Dh8 per minute.

An Etisalat spokesperson and technical expert said, “These messages have nothing to do with Etisalat and the phone numbers are probably randomly selected. I would advise people not to respond to such messages since they may be misleading. We already have examples of people being fleeced by such baseless mail and SMS messages.”

· asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com