New Cell Phone Scam Involves Your Family and Friends

Posted on June 8th, 2010. Written by Rico.

Here’s a story making the email rounds about someone who tricked into turning off their cell phone for a “3G update”.

The modus operandi of this so-called cell phone kidnapping scam detailed in the following anecdote (not verified) is notable for its simplicity. The scammer calls an unsuspecting victim, claiming to be a telco representative, and gets the victim to turn off their phone so that an “update” can be “installed”. While the victim remains out of touch, someone working with the scammer calls the victim’s family or friends demanding for money. A relatively quick and easy pretend-kidnapping that has the chance to score the scammers some good money. The email follows:

Dear all,

I cannot stop myself from sharing this with all of you.

It all started when I received a call from someone claiming that he was from Globe and he asked me to shutdown my phone for 2 hours for 3G update to take place. As I was rushing for a meeting, I did not question and shutdown my cell phone.

After 45 minutes I felt very suspicious since the caller did not even introduce his name. I quickly turned on my cell phone and I received several calls from my family members and the others were from the number that had called me earlier – 3954380.

I called my parents and I was shocked that they sounded very worried asking me whether I am safe. My parents told me that they had received a call from someone claiming that they had me with them and asking for money to let me free. The call was so real and my parents even heard ‘my voice’ crying out loud asking for help. My parent was at the bank waiting for next call to proceed for money transfer. I told my parents that I am safe and asked them to lodge a police report.

Right after that I received another call from the guy asking me to shutdown my cell phone for another 1 hour which I refused to do and hung up. They keep calling my cell phone until the battery had run down. I myself lodged a police report and I was informed by the officer that there were many such scams reported. MOST of the cases reported that the victim had already transferred the money! And it is impossible to get back the money.

Be careful as this kind of scam might happen to any of us!!! Those guys are so professional and very convincing during calls. If you are asked to shut down your cell phone for updates by the service provider, ASK AROUND! Your family or friends might receive the same call.

Be Safe and Stay Alert!

Please pass around to your family and friends!

Is This Real?

So far, I haven’t found anything online that labels the above story as a hoax. It’s interesting to consider however that for many major banks, it’s possible to cancel deposits and get your money back. In any case, here’s another reason why you should limit what you share with companies or websites. The less other people know about you—and your family and friends—the harder it becomes for scammers to take advantage.

Of course, if you know more about this story’s truthfulness—or lack thereof—feel free to let us know in the comments below.

(Photo from lowtech511 on Flickr)