28th July, 2011
Worldâ€
The hoaxers previously used to send the dubious information to email addresses telling people they had won a Nokia device. This scam has now moved on and is being sent out to mobiles phones via SMS, with the message suggesting people have won a free Nokia, and just need to provide their bank details to claim the free phone.
“We have been receiving reports recently that scam artists are sending out hoax SMS and emails, purportedly from Nokia, that offer some sort of money if one were to respond in a similar way that lotteries are run. We would like to clarify that those messages are not coming from Nokia and that we do not do money lotteries. We are asking people to beware and know that this ‘lotteryâ€
“Our advice is that if you do receive something dubious like this, DO NOT reply to these messages or pass them on. The thing to do is to delete the message without responding. You might also consider contacting the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) to report such hoax messages,†said Oyolla.
He added: “We continue to remind people that bank details should never be given to strangers, particularly if all you know about that person is a contact mobile number and nothing else. If you havenâ€
How the Nokia Lottery scam works:
There are methods these scammers use in the hope of stealing your money.
Method 1: A mobile phone user will receive an email claiming they have been chosen at random, to receive a prize, usually a large figure of money. In this case, £350,000 is the prize. However, to receive winnings the mobile phone user is informed he/she must send them some money as an admin charge; £650 in this same case. They hope youâ€
Method 2: This is commonly used through contacting a mobile phone user by SMS. These text messages will tell you youâ€
Whatever method they use, they will be asking for the same thing. Either your bank account details, or some money in another form and the messages they send always look official, but theyâ€