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 Technology News | May 2005 
Telcel Warns Of Fraud
 Angelina Mejía Guerrero - El Universal
| | The nation's largest wireless provider says promises of free travel are a hoax. |
Telcel, the domestic leader in mobile telephone service with 70 percent of the nation's 40 million users, is warning its customers against what it says is an increase in cellphone-related fraud.
One of the most common hoaxes involves promises of free travel, says Telcel.
In this scam, the potential victim receives a call with a recording telling them that they've won a beach vacation package. They are instructed to press a key to obtain their prize, but when they do, the call is rerouted to a call center, usually overseas, at the victim's expense.
The presumed benefactor of this type of ploy is a “virtual business” that attaches its own fee to international calls.
Another common scheme, says Telcel, is for a scam artist to call a cellphone owner and pose as an employee of a phone service provider. The caller tells the victim that they have won a substantial cash prize, and in order to collect, they just need to buy one of that company's pre-paid calling cards, scratch off the access code, and read the code to the caller.
The perpetrator then uses the code to make his or her own calls for free.
Telcel says that it has asked judicial authorities to look into the increasing cases of fraud. For its part, the federal consumer protection agency Profeco says that it has not yet received any formal complaints about these types of scams. |
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