QuickCheck: Are fake phone bill discounts the latest scam tactic?

AS more and more people learn about the tricks used by scammers to lure potential victims, these con artists will inevitably revise their tactics and come up with new ways to part people from their money.

Recently, a claim has gone viral online that scammers have a new tactic as they now pose as telecommunication company personnel when contacting people, claiming to offer phone bill discounts.

Is there any truth to this?

VERDICT:

TRUE

This has been confirmed by law enforcement on the Cyber Crime Alert Royal Malaysia Police Facebook page, in a post urging the public to be careful if they receive calls from anyone claiming to be from a telecommunication company's call centre.

"They will offer a three-month bill waiver if the person receiving the call tells them a six-digit code that will be sent while they are on the phone," said the police.

The police added that there are several ways to determine if such a call is from a scammer, saying that telecommunication companies will not use their call centres to contact people regarding these offers late at night.

"They will not use WhatsApp to call their customers, and the level of Bahasa Malaysia proficiency will be disappointing," they said.

"Do not reveal any security codes sent to you, doing so is practically opening the door to criminals. Please be careful and dial 997 if there is any suspicion or if you are aware you have been cheated," added the police.