Ooredoo combats telecom scams

In response to an increasing number of telecom scams, Ooredoo has launched a series of technical and security measures to fight fraudulent SMS’ and calls that target its customers. During such scams, customers have reported receiving calls from people posing as Ooredoo employees, asking for personal banking information or money in order to claim a prize.

Combating this problem, Ooredoo has changed the way in which they deliver their SMS’; implementing a new set-up which will reduce the number of fraud incidents. Their new advanced filtering system will now have increased control and security for messaging, resulting in a significant reduction in the number of unsolicited SMS messages received, as well as spam. Moving forward, more tailored SMS security measures will be taken to further reduce unwanted SMS. This revolutionary change is the culmination of considerable engineering work and represents only one of the activities the company is using to address the problem.

Jim Maxwell, Chief Legal, Regulatory & Wholesale Officer at Ooredoo, said, “We have been working very closely with the TRA and other local authorities, to raise public awareness about these scams through social media and other platforms. Anyone requesting money or your banking information is likely to take it and disappear. Ooredoo never asks customers for personal banking information over the phone and we do not offer money or other prizes via SMS. Furthermore, we never request people to top up or recharge and will never request anything in return for receiving a prize. I would like to reiterate that all of our promotions and competitions are announced clearly in the press and different media channels with winners of different prizes contacted officially and never required to transfer money or furnish personal confidential information.”

He added, “The internet has opened a new avenue for scammers and we have taken exhaustive technical, engineering, and safety measures to stay on top of the problem and provide our customers with the assurance they deserve. With vigilance and the appropriate scope of preventive action taken on both sides, the number of such incidents will be significantly reduced.”

To obtain official information from Ooredoo, customers can visit any of its 38 stores or call the Contact Centre by dialling 1500 from any Ooredoo number. Additionally, users can go to one of the following official sites: @OoredooOman for Twitter, www.facebook.com/OoredooOman, www.youtube.com/OoredooOman and of course, their website: www.ooredoo.om.