European woman duped by bogus $1m prize

Published Wednesday, March 27, 2013

A European woman living in Abu Dhabi became the latest victim of mobile phone extortion by losing nearly Dh28,000 in call credit when she was told by two unknown impostors posing as telecom officials she had won $one million.

One of the two Asians was arrested while the other one fled the country after the woman reported them to the police when she suspected their devious plan only after she sent them call credit worth Dh28,000.

The woman told the prosecutor that she had received several calls from the two claiming she had won $one million from a telecom firm in the UAE and that she has to send them call credit to process her prize.

“She believed them when they mentioned the serial number on her SIM card, unaware of the fact that all SIM cards carry the same number,”
the Sharjah-based Arabic language daily Al Khaleej said.

[Image via Shutterstock]

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