The police have warned that fraudsters are using vulnerable people’s identities to register SIM cards, which are then used for fraudulent activities.
This follows growing concerns over scams in which criminals steal money from bank accounts and use other people’s phone numbers to lure victims with promises of cash rewards.
Namibian Police inspector Petrus Sakaria, during a scammers awareness session with the Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC) on Monday, said fraudsters recruit vulnerable members of the community to register the SIM cards on their behalf.
Sakaria said the police have recorded numerous cases involving SIM cards registered in the names of people living in villages, whose identities are allegedly being used to conduct fraudulent activities in urban towns.
He, however, could not provide statistics as he did not have them by the time of going to print.
“These fraudsters pay young boys from the villages because they are vulnerable,” he said.
Sakaria warned members of the public against allowing other people to register SIM cards using their personal details.
He said the police have numerous cases of fraud, including fake wallet scams, investment scams, impersonation, social media scams and identity theft.
Sakaria said criminals send notifications with false information to people. He said some scammers call users, telling them to invest in something in return for a bigger reward.
“They then call you after sending the notification asking you to release your items or telling you that you will get more money after making a small investment,” he said.
Sakaria said the police solve most cases, especially now that SIM cards are registered.
However, he said some victims do not tell the truth when reporting these cases.
“Some victims say their money just disappeared without receiving any call or notification. We would not know who scammed you if you are not providing all the details,” he said.
He said knowing scammers’ details helps the police to identify fraudsters and solve cases easily.
He also urged customers to not delete any numbers, notifications or unusual text messages, as it could help the investigation.
MTC corporate communications specialist Erasmus Nekundi yesterday said a customer is allowed to have a maximum of 10 SIM cards.
Responding to accusations about the company protecting scammers, Nekundi said MTC does not give out customer data because it is obligated to adhere to consumer data.
“If we are to give out customer data like that, it will be reckless of us as an entity and customers will not trust us with their sensitive information,” he said.
He gave the example of people who may have an ulterior motive against others and request their information from MTC, pretending to have been scammed, and then use the information to harm them.
For scammers calling people pretending to be MTC, he said the company works together with the police to investigate such cases.
He said the police fill in a form to obtain personal information.
“But we don’t reveal customer data to just anyone,” he said.
He said the company has a policy in place to make sure customers are protected and staff found working together with scammers are dismissed immediately.
Nekundi said MTC competition draws are only received from 081 8882 000, urging the public to save the number to know when a scammer is calling them.
First National Bank (FNB) head of retail banking operations Carpio Minnaar says there exists a concept in the banking sector called social engineering, where fraudsters manipulate customers to get information or hack them, and not systems or technology.
He says the term entails instilling fear, urgency or confidence to get specific information from customers.
“Fraudsters will call or send an SMS with specific information indicating that they have irregularities on their accounts and requesting identification or banking numbers to restrict fraudsters from accessing your account,” he says.
However, he says some fraudsters use too-good-to-be-true winnings like accommodation or travelling to get information from customers.
