New wave of scam calls prompts etisalat warning

Etisalat customers have been once again warned to beware of scamsters following a fresh wave of calls, promising Dh500,000.

The new calls are made from an etisalat mobile Number 056 7127765. The modus operandi is the same.

Calls are made to random numbers and a ma le voice quickly congratulates the receiver for winning the above-mentioned amount. The receiver is then asked to call back and the number is disconnected.

“Customers should not reply to these calls and the number should be immediately reported to the police,” said a spokesperson from the telecom company.

Callers say the scamsters never answer when they are called back from the a landline.

“I tried calling back from a landline but the call was never answered. I then tried to call from my du number. The call got connected but the person on the other line, who spoke in Urdu asked me to call back from the Etisalat number on which I received the call,” said Mili CK who received a call on Monday morning.

The scam has been on for almost two years with customers being either told to transfer money as processing in order to receive the price money.

“You don’t need to worry about the payment. The money will be delivered as cash,” one of the callers said.

Another Etisalat customer said she has been losing her balance ever since she answered and returned a call by one of the scamsters.

“I finally had to change my sim card,” said Deepa Shankar.

According to Etisalat, the scamsters are based in various countries and make calls pretending to be from the telecom company.

Police have made several arrests over the past year following complaints by customers.

Emirates 24|7 reporting on a similar scam earlier this year had said that TRA and the police are working towards cracking the well organised network by gangs using SIM cards obtained from people who are no longer in the UAE.

At times copies of passports with valid UAE residence visas are used to obtain SIM cards.

Last month Abu Dhabi Police arrested a seven-member gang who used to run a similar racket.

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