Resident loses R5 000 in SMS scam
Thousands of SMS's are sent out daily to say your cell number has won money, but SAPS warns there is no prize.
A LOCAL was scammed out of R5 940 after he received an SMS stating his cellphone number had won R75 000 in a competition. According to Lt Raymond Deokaran, spokesman for the Durban North SAPS, a Mr George listed on the contact list asked the local resident to first deposit a small amount in order for his winnings to be released.
After this he was then contacted again by Mr George who then said SARS required a further R5 700 for tax purposes. “The resident did not have that amount and could only deposit R3 000. He was told by the scamster his prize money would only be released once the full amount requested was paid.
“Eventually the man realised this was a scam and reported it to the station. He later admitted that he never entered any competition,” he said.
According to Deokaran, thousands of these SMSs are sent out on a daily basis and is intended to extract personal information out of the unsuspecting victim.
“These scammers, work around its constraints and even use international numbers to launch their schemes. Any message stating you have won the lottery or competition that you didn’t enter should be an indication of a scam. There is no prize and the lottery or promotion mentioned in the messages does not exist. The messages are lures used to entice recipients into sending money and personal banking information,” he said.
