Muscat: Several citizens and residents have been coming across 'scam' messages that tempt them to earn not only some but big money in a short time with little or no effort.
Messages received from unknown numbers generally about job offers like doing simple tasks such as watching a few videos and liking them.
Some examples are listed below:
One such message (from +963 981748870) read: "Nice to meet you. My name is Amelia and I would like to offer a job for you that is simple and interesting, I am a market researcher at our company. Here I have two simple survey questions and a YouTube Subscribe channel task. It only takes 3-5 minutes to complete and we will pay RO6 as the task reward. You can earn between RO90 to RO200 per day through this task. If you are interested please reply with (OK)."
Another message from the same number read: "Hello! Good Afternoon, How are you? Nice to meet you, My name is Amanda. Currently, our company is looking for a lot of part-time YouTube subscribers. Depending on your ability, you can earn from RO60 to RO300 per day. Can I share these job details? Our job is very easy and flexible. I will give you two simple market survey questions and one YouTube channel subscription. When you finish, you will receive RO6 first. It only takes a time 3-5 minutes. Our job can be done in your spare time and not affect your current job. If you want to try, Please reply with (OK). "
The scam
According to cybersecurity experts, the scammers could ask to like YouTube Videos for a certain period.
Initially, they will ask you to transfer some token amount to them.
The process will then start by creating an online account to credit the earnings and initially, the credits will be shown in the account.
It may be later noticed that money cannot be transferred from the virtual account to the bank.
The process continues with requests to reinvest the virtual amount and the real money in return for an attractive earning from a relatively small task.
Scamsters seem to be working on the greed of a person by forcing him or her to invest a considerable amount.
What TRA says
When this issue was brought up by the Observer with the Telecom Regulatory Authority (TRA), the top officials said that only awareness campaigns can stop scams via social media till we have proper unified regulations in place, especially at the regional level.
Replying to a query from Oman Observer during a media event, Omar al Ismaili, the CEO, TRA said, “The social media companies, unfortunately, though popular, do not comply with requirements of the local authorities in the region and till we have a joint regulation in place, awareness campaigns are the only way to protect the end users in the country.”
A word of caution
TRA urged users to be cautious not to give personal information to scammers, including ID details, OTP, and bank account numbers.
Be vigilant regarding gift card scams which are done when purchasing iTunes Gift & App Store as you have to avoid sharing your info in case someone requests you to do so.
Avoid phone scams which usually come from unknown callers or messages who claim you are a winner in a contest or a draw.
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