MBOMBELA -The Internet is flooded with complaints, all confirming that answering a call from this number opens you up to falling victim to an alleged scam.
The well-known spam-identifying smartphone application, Truecaller, has over 7 000 reports confirming that this indeed a scam. Mbombela resident Irene Barnard recently received a phone call from this number, and was offered an excellent cellphone deal.
Being in the market for a new phone, she listened attentively until she found out that the marketer basically knew everything about her. The unknown gentleman confirmed her ID number, as well as the date on which she receives her salary and how much she earns.
She immediately grew suspicious and hung up. When her husband tried to phone them back, the number no longer existed. Upon investigation, hundreds of similar complaints were found when she searched the number on the Internet.
A site called Tellows Score identified the culprit as United Solution, which led them to a 087 number. The woman who answered said Barnard had confirmed a debit order, which she had not.
She received numerous text messages confirming that she had now registered for her new contract after which an undisclosed amount of money was debited from her account.
She immediately cancelled all debit orders on her account and was changing all her details, including her bank account and cellphone number.
“It is a massive schlep. And they are still phoning me. But I was one of the lucky ones.”
According to tellows.co.za, a website dedicated to providing a platform for victims of spam and scam calls to distribute knowledge of dubious phone numbers, thousands of people suffer the same fate.
“The fraudulent entrepreneurs behind the nuisance calls are experts on exploiting people’s weak spots, namely: people’s very own ignorance.”
Other victims of 011-053-0199 shared their experiences on the site. Many were not as lucky as Barnard. Some recounted how they lost a lot of money.
“It’s been calling me saying I qualify for a phone contract and I’m only a student. I don’t even earn the R2 500 and above which is required for a contract. I’m scared,” another wrote.
Another confessed to having worked for the company and apologised, saying they had not known they were being used to get people’s details with the false hope that they were applying for loans. “Please advise others not to fall prey to this scam.”
When Lowvelder dialed the number, it did “not exist”.
