The Sunday News
SCORES of Zimbabweans have lost thousands of dollars after fraudsters contacted them using text messages that they had won large sums of money in a prize draw allegedly run by a local retailer. This is just one of many scams that are exploiting popular company brands.
The scam artists after sending an SMS notifying their victims of having won a $1 000 cash voucher from “Beitbridge Spar Supermarket,” (as a case in point) enticed people to send $10 via Ecocash so that they could claim their prize.
Many fell prey to the scam due to the liquidity crunch and the “January Disease” squeeze on household finances.
Ahmed Safuli of Tafara, was an apparent victim of sweepstakes scam and it cost him $10.
“When I got an sms on my cellular phone from Spar Beitbridge that I had won a $1 000 cash voucher I leapt with joy,” he said.
“I was so happy that I didn’t think twice to pay $10 via Ecocash to fraudsters. I thought all my school fees woes were over until I learnt about the scam from other people who got similar messages.”
He said when he tried to inquire about his prize money he received no response.
“I also got an SMS from ‘Beitbridge Spar’ but when I asked people around, they warned me not to pay anything until I checked the notification with Spar Supermarkets,” said Chenai Mureverwi of Mabvuku.
“I was lucky but I know a lot of people have fallen for the trap.” Spar Zimbabwe has since issued a public notice in the media warning people to ignore and disregard the text message circulating.
“Please do not send money via Ecocash to ‘claim’ your prize. Spar is not running an SMS-based competition,” read part of the Spar Zimbabwe warning. All legitimate Spar prize draws are held in a public venue with auditors and or in the presence of Spar store managers to authenticate proceedings. We advise all members of the public to take due caution and exercise due caution and exercise vigilance.”
Meanwhile, scores of job-seekers have also fallen prey to scammers who have posted an advert for “graduate trainees” on the social media using Old Mutual Zimbabwe’s name.
Victims were asked by the scammers to do wire transfers as a fee for processing their applications.
Old Mutual Zimbabwe also ran a disclaimer in the Press.
“It has come to our attention that there is an advert for Graduate Trainees circulating on social media that purports to have originated from Old Mutual Zimbabwe. Please note that Old Mutual Zimbabwe does not advertise or offer vacancies on social media,” read part of the statement.
“Old Mutual Zimbabwe advertises vacancies in the local press and on the official website.”
A UK-based international NGO has also in recent weeks issued a disclaimer in the press dissociating itself from an unknown entity using its name to advertise for jobs.
Some Zimbabweans have also fallen victim to cyber crime as scammers ask them to supply them with personal information, including bank account numbers with promises of a lottery and sweepstake prizes.
The victims are asked to send money via wire transfers.
Obscene publication, transmission of unauthorised contents, credit card and banking frauds are the widespread cyber crime faced worldwide.
Other cases include phishing, scanning, spam, malicious code and website intrusions. Zimbabwe is now susceptible to international and domestic cyber attacks and police in the country have repeatedly warned people of cyber crime.
“Incidents of cyber crime in Zimbabwe are on the increase and need to be quantified through research. The prevalence of cyber criminals is a worrying development as Zimbabwe grows more reliant on ICTs,” wrote Professor Gabriel Kabanda — an information and communication technology expert — in a recent article in the local press.
“The chances of people experiencing negative incidents and becoming victims to online crime are greater now. These losses can potentially affect the country in terms of image, reputation, investor confidence and security.”
A 2011 Global Economic Crime Survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers classified online crime as one of the top four economic crimes globally.
“There is an urgent need to raise awareness on and take precautions to mitigate against cyber crime in Zimbabwe,” Prof Kabanda said.
“There have been several cases of cheating through the Internet where some victims lost all their hard-earned savings. Cyber criminals take advantage of human weaknesses and strike mercilessly.” — Bh24
