Police awareness on scam messages

Digital technology has revolutionised almost every aspect of our lives and whilst the advantages are numerous, there are unfortunate downsides.

For example, mobile phone users are not immune to random text messages telling them they are the lucky winners of a huge amount of money. Because of this, Lae police have decided to raise awareness on the issue.

Lae police recently highlighted that a group of people are texting random mobile users, scamming them into thinking they have won a large sum of money.

In response, police have advised the public to be critical when receiving messages that seem too good to be true – because they probably are.

Police say when you receive such messages, try to verify with the company itself by calling people who may be working with that firm, or those who are in a better position to confirm whether such promotions or events are running.

Police say they have learnt that these groups of people, or scammers, advise network users to make a cash deposit or send them phone credits if they wish to claim their prize. The public has been asked to bear in mind that companies do not ask for anything in return for customers to claim promotional prizes.

Whilst numbers can be traced, police believe scammers are using stolen or lost phones to conduct their illegal activities.

They have further warned scammers that they will be caught. And penalties relating to such offences under the Cybercrime Act and NICTA Act are very serious, where an offender can be fined up to K50,000 or even face life imprisonment.

The good citizens of this nation have also been asked to help educate their relatives and friends.

Author: 
Carmella Gware