Sri Lanka cyber security agency worries about SMS scams

Complainants lured with prize money share personal details

PTI | January 5, 2011



Sri Lanka's cyber security agency is worried about possible monetary scams after it received several complaints from people who have got SMSes seeking their personal details luring them with a huge prize money.

Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Response Team (SLCERT) said that it has received at least four complaints in this regard.

A top official of the agency said the complainants received the SMSes from unknown numbers asking them to contact an Indian number to get a prize money of USD 2 million which the SMSes claimed the recipients had won.

"When customers contacted the number or logged in to the website provided in the SMS they were asked to provide personal details to claim the prize money with a payment request for USD 200 fee to process the documentation," Rohan Palliyaguru, Senior Information Security Engineer of the SLCERT told PTI.

The scammers obtain the mobile numbers through social networking sites such as facebook, he said.

Mobile phones have become very popular in Sri Lanka over the last few years as more than 15 million of the country's 20 million population becoming users of mobile connections.



 

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