[BEWARE] Two Filipinos Scammed from Bogus Call

A Filipino expat in Kuwait has reportedly lost KD 2,527 because of a hoax call informing him that he won KD 20,000, according to a report by the Arab Times.

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The victim, an employee of a lending firm, has lodged a complaint at the Ahmadi Police Station against the unidentified suspect. The complainant explained to authorities that he received an unknown call via Viber from the suspect telling him that he won KD 20,000. But in order to claim the ‘prize’ he was asked for his civil ID number, bank card number, as well as his secret pin code.

[BEWARE] Two Filipinos Scammed from Bogus Call
Image Credit: Wikimdia Commons

[Scam Alert] Filipino Expats Lose Money from Hoax Call

After the complainant has sent all the requested information, he later discovered that instead of receiving the prize money, a sum of KD 2,527 had been debited from his account. The police have taken necessary actions to track down the suspect by asking the bank for details of the individual who last had access to the victim’s account prior the incident.

In other related news, a 50-year old Filipino based in Fahaleel, has also lodged a complaint against an unidentified suspect for stealing KD 9,000 from his bank account.

The complainant told the police that he had received a call from an unknown number, informing him that he had won KD 10,000. The unverified caller then asked the complainant for his account number and password to deposit the amount to his bank account. However, the man was stunned when he later discovered that instead of receiving the supposed prize money, he got a message that KD 9,000 had been debited from his bank account.

Let this be reminder for all overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and the public in general to never entertain such calls, especially when there’re no means to verify the caller’s identity and legitimate business.

Always remember that in this day and age where technology enables people to do many things electronically, giving out something as simple as your mobile number and other personal information can be used against you, especially by advanced types of hackers.

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