Victim warns of ‘lucky draw’ scam

t is another regular story with the common ingredients of greed and guile. A Qatar resident receives an international call telling him that he had won hundreds of thousands of riyals in a lucky scheme and he should claim the prize, by following the instructions “immediately and discretely”.
It all began with a missed call that Abdul Mohid, a Bangladeshi expatriate, received from a Pakistani number (923439890116) on his mobile at 3.30pm on Monday. Being a salesman who has contacts in that country, Mohid returned the call, only to be told that he had won QR370,000 in a lucky draw conducted by Qtel. And the caller did not fail to congratulate Mohid profusely on his good luck.
Believing that his bad days were over and thanking God for his good fortunes, Mohid, a 30-year veteran of Qatar, ran to the store nearby and purchased Hala (prepaid) cards to the tune of QR11,400 as advised by the caller and provided him with the secret numbers of the cards. As the man at the other end demanded more, Mohid grew suspicious and consulted with his family members who advised him against obliging the “fraudster” any further.
Mohid said that all through the over two-hour conversation he had with the caller, he was kept on tenterhooks, not allowing him to divulge the matter to anybody as he was told that might hurt his prospects. The scamster even conveyed to Mohid a congratulatory message, purported to be from the Qtel chairman, just to keep his victim’s spirits high.
As Mohid recounted his story to Gulf Times yesterday, he said he suspected some Qatar residents to be involved in the racket. “I had received a call from a local number about 10 days ago, seeking information like the position I held in the organisation I work, my earnings, etc. The girl, who introduced herself as an employee of QTC (Qatar Telecom Company) said she was seeking personal details as part of the company’s plan to upgrade its customer database. I gave her some of the details believing that she represented Qtel.”
Though not hopeful that he would be able to recoup his losses, Mohid said he had filed a complaint with the Rayyan police. “The police officer spent almost an hour to record my statement. He was very considerate and helpful.”
He said he also went to Qtel’s Al Saad office. “Though the person at the counter empathized with me, he said nothing much can be done in this regard. He also told me that Qtel had received many a complaint of the same nature.”
In the recent past, Qtel had, through advertisements and press releases, cautioned the public about such scams.
A wiser man now, Mohid said he was sharing his experience with the public, with the only hope that scamsters did not take advantage of more gullible people like him.
So the million dollar question is: How to avoid the trap of fraudsters. The answer is: Follow your grandma’s advice; there are not enough people around doling out fortunes to one and sundry.