KAMPALA — As with any public crisis, the spread of the coronavirus has created a new crop of scammers— targeting people who are awaiting their stimulus check, who are working from home and who are just trying to stay healthy.
This requires one to be on guard against all kind of scams including fake promotions of hackers masquerading as employees of Mobile operators, the Uganda Communications Communication (UCC) has warned.
A release from UCC on Monday April 20 also offers some solid advice on what to watch out for after increasing cases of scammers that continue to hit the mobile money business.
“The scammers are running fake promotions and in some cases masquerading as employees of UCC or of a Mobile Network Operator (MNO), and requesting subscribers to enter codes in their phones, or to share their mobile money PIN in fulfilment of a fake requirement of registration,” the UCC said.
In an extraordinary new fraud, considerable sums of money has lost especially during the COVID-19 lockdown, with subscribers increasingly using digital financial platforms due to limited mobility.
To maintain a safe and secure communications services and digital financial environment, the UCC is, therefore, advising the public to take extra caution and always confirm the originator of any money related messages to avoid falling prey to such acts.
The UCC says in its commitment to ensure the protection of consumers of communications services in Uganda, it is working relentlessly with other stakeholders in the industry to combat this latest vice.
Subscribers are advised to be vigilant and follow these guidelines:
Don’t share your PIN over the phone or with any third party.
Verify any SIM registration request with your service provider’s call centre (Call 100) or other channels established for consumer engagement (UCC Toll-Free – 0800 222 777).
Ignore or report people who are talking of registering or disconnecting your phone number.
Don’t use codes or approve transactions you do not know.