Wait, Dial 9 to be... SCAMMED?

 

Today, I just got a warning from someone about the Press 9 scam. Somebody claimed to be from PLDT saying that the phone and Internet will be cut off. The next thing required was the press 9 procedure. Fortunately, the person called 171 to ask if it was such a thing. If the bills were paid properly then one can say, "Wait, this is really another scam!" 

I Googled "Press 9 scam" and found that one can lose a lot of money by just pressing 9. Here's an excerpt from that article that was a warning. The article is written in India by an Indian. However, with the incident happening in the Philippines (and I wouldn't be surprised if my Indian friends warn me about it)--I'd like to share it nonetheless:

“These types of fraud usually try to create a sense of urgency or employ scare tactics to coerce the victim into complying with the attacker’s requests,” Lukas Stefanko, Malware Analyst, ESET explains what makes these scams work.

The biggest weapon that these scammers use to target their victims is data and the relevance of it. If they can get details about your mobile operator or even the electricity board and somehow get the account details as well, that’s enough for them to probe the victim and try to get more information out of them which will never feel like it was forcefully done.

“Scammers often employ tactics like fake notifications, urgent messages, or enticing offers to trick users into downloading malicious apps,” as highlighted by Harish Kumar GS, Head of Sales, Check Point Software Technologies, India & SAARC.

There is a very good reason why many of us get so many SMSs and emails warning about sharing their OTPs with unknown callers, in fact FedEx has been forced into pushing this message on social media to stop them from falling prey to these scams that have wreaked havoc lately.

“Some scammers even employ call spoofing, using legitimate phone numbers to bolster their credibility, and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology to obscure their actual numbers and locations,” Stefanko shared the information with a strong word of caution.

Why did I get phished once? I'd like to say that aside from my tiredness, the one pretending to be GCash (or probably a wayward employee) was actually lying about maintenance. I entered my old MPIN number and poof--my pocket money was gone! I'd like to say it was a very irritating experience. Fortunately, I was able to keep in mind about it, "If you know it's too fantastic to be true, don't buy for it!" The same went when someone texted me he was waiting for me outside at 5 A.M. in the morning, for a package I never ordered. 

In my case, I'd like to share details on another one called the 9-0# scam.This can be terrifying:

Who Is It Targeting: Businesses with multi-line phone systems

What Is It: A phishing scam that lets outsiders use your phone system to make expensive calls.

What Are They After: According to Verizon, scammers call a business and pose as employees of their phone system. They claim to be conducting a check of the line, and ask the receptionist to dial nine, then press zero, then simply hang up. Once the employee hangs up, the scammer uses the code to connect to an outside line through the company’s network. Then they place a call to anywhere in the world, piggybacking off the company’s outside line and billing it to the company.

Metrobank

Going forward, I ran into this post office scam modus operandi. This is how it works according to Metrobank:

You receive an automated call from “Philpost”. The call instructs you to press 9 which directs you to a fake Philpost representative.

The fake Philpost representative claims you have a parcel that is involved in money laundering. The fake representative informs you that you will be blacklisted from Philpost because your parcel contains questionable items, such as bank cards and passports, allegedly involved in money laundering. When you deny the allegation, the “representative” suggests that you might be a victim of identity theft, and refers you to the “PNP”.

A fake police officer video calls you. The fake officer informs you that your name is on the PNP’s list of money launderers. When you deny the allegation, the “officer” instructs you to send your bank account details, IDs, and screenshots of your mobile banking transactions so the PNP can “investigate” your banking activities.

The “officer” demands money as part of the “investigation”. The fake officer orders you to transfer funds to an e-wallet. This serves as your “digital footprint” needed for the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001 (AMLA) investigation.

If you don’t comply, the “officer” threatens you by serving an arrest warrant and freeze order.

Pretty much, this is another preposterous claim. It's effortless to pretend to be someone and then do a scam, especially in this digital age. However, there's one rule--never give personal information unless you made the call yourself.