Beware of Text Scams

Hello cellphone users most specially retailer friends! Are you familiar with the following messages?

NOTICE! FRM.(DTI) MOBILE#, Won P750,000.00 FRM AIM GLOBAL. (2nd-FREE SIM RAFFLE DRAW, 4info PLZ Send Your Name/Age/Add/Work. DTI PERMIT#5719 S'16.GODBLESS.

A text message telling you that your mobile number won thousands and even million of cash from a raffle draw held by a company.

Another kind of text message is

 Kmusta na kau lhat dyan eto na bgo roaming# ko dto na kau plagi magtxt.ofw sim eto kya tipid lang txt dto ingat kau plagi txtbk kpag nrcve u txt ko.

A text message telling that he changed his roaming number and asking for a reply. The third message was almost the same content. This next message was one of the same old text message I received before when I'm not yet a store retailer.

Kmusta kau lhat ito new ruming # qu,dito kna ttix lagi ipapdla ako pera dyan 

The message also tells that he changed roaming number and ask you to reply for he will send money to you.

If all of your answer were YES well we're just the same. lol

It's very essential to check the text message before we believe on it's content specially if it came from unknown number. There are so many other text message aside from the above example that categorize as text scam.

How to Determine If the Text was Scam or Not?

There are ways you can easily determine If the text were a Text Scam. If the text was like the first content, a message telling that you are a winner of raffle draw from a company that you do not joined was a Red Warning. On this moment you can ask your self 'How can I won a big cash on raffle draw from a company without knowing that I have joined?' Most text scam now a days uses known companies like GMA kapuso or known personalities. They gather your personal information like name and address. Of course, if ever GMA for example has a contest, they will announce it on air as well as the winner. 

Text scammer uses ordinary sim cards to do their text brigade. Personally, I won 2 times on a raffle draw from a company. One was from Globe Telecommunication and Eat Bulaga. Both contest was of course I know that I had joined and they both called me with text message to inform me that I was one of their winners. Globe text me with a 4 digit number sender, not the typical 11 digit number on a sim card. They also called me to confirm and inform how to claim my prize.

Some text scams pretend to be one of your family. They will text like he was accident and in need of money or they ask you to load that number because they just ask a favor to someone to text you. This tactic easily got your attention specially if it seems to be true, well of course we care for our family. For me, If this was true, my family must address me on text using my name specially If they ask for someone just to text me. Not using of name seems to be a group and a generic message which can be use to anyone.

For us load retailer, on my own experience I received many text message that telling me that I've got a reward from SMART Money, then for me to claim that reward I must dial a series of numbers. But as I observe how the text was made, the text came from an ordinary sim number and the numbers I have to dial was the format on how to pass a load. lol If anyone receive that text and do not know how to 'PASALOAD', he or she might be the next scammer's victim.

I also receive a text with the same content but for me to claim the reward I have to send a P300.00 on a SMART Money account. The text has an instruction of sending format of funds from your smart money. So, if you do not know or aware of this modus you might be caught on their text scams. They will trick you that you are a winner but the truth is you'll be the one who gave them the money they want. Instead of believing their text, just ignore those text message so the scammer may think that your number was not in use or in active if you do not reply. They will also might think that you are aware of that modus.

You can also report it to telcos like the instruction on the image above. Scammers get smarter and smarter like the advancement of technology, they uses different plans and techniques to deceive people. So retailer friends don't be a victim, beware of text scams.


Image Credits to www.newsbyte.ph