NTC-7 Warns Public on Text Scam

National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) here warns the public of the rampant cases of text scam.

Engr. Bill Peralta of NTC -7 said that they are now intensifying the government’s move to eliminate text scam cases in Central Visayas.

Peralta added that as of January to July this year, they have already received a hundred complains of text scams.

“Mostly those being informed that they have won an amount of money and those asked through text from an 11-digit cellphone number to give money or load,” Peralta said.

He noted that incidents had reached far flung areas as they have also entertained complaints from individuals, and not just those who go to their office to complain.

In an advisory, NTC urged the public who are victims of text scams to immediately inform NTC of the cellphone number used for text scam so that NTC will forward it to concerned Telecommunications Network for the number to be blocked.

In this note NTC-7 disclosed the 4 kinds of text scam that include: Raffle Draw Winner Text Scam; Relative Asking for Load; Load Thief (Pasa/Kawat Load); and someone asking you to return the load mistakenly loaded to your cellphone number.

NTC warns the public not to believe in a text message from an 11-digit number informing them that they have won in a raffle draw and asking about their personal information and if possible asking to send load and some cases the sender will require money for processing fee.

“There are also cases wherein someone will text you as relative or friend asking for load,” Peralta shared.

Sometimes you will not be aware that you have already shared a load to someone using the share a load promo of the different network provider this is known as “pasa/kawat load” Text Scam.

In some cases there will be someone asking you to return the load mistakenly loaded to your cellphone number.

For text scam complaints, please contact Customer Welfare and Protection Unit (CWPU) of NTC-7 at (032) 346-0179 or 422-6822 or NTC Central Office (02) 926-7722 or 921 – 3251 or email at ntcvii@yahoo.com. (ays/PIA7)