Scam promo: MTN absolves self, warns subscribers

Leading mobile telecommunications company, MTN Nigeria has absolved itself from a scam promo by some people aimed at defrauding unsuspecting subscribers of money through various denominations of recharge cards.

Corporate Services Executive of MTN Nigeria, Mrs Amina Oyagbola, who disclosed this, said that the telco is disassociating itself from the scam, even as she warned subscribers to be at alert by not allow themselves to be victims of this scam.

She said that reports reaching MTN showed that some fraudsters have either made voice calls or sent Short Messaging Service (SMS) to subscribers alleging that they had won various items such as DVD players, music sets, etc, in an MTN organised promotion, and they should therefore send PIN numbers of unused N1,500, or N3,000 recharge cards to enable them courier the prizes they purportedly won in fictitious promos.

“Unfortunately, some members of the public have fallen victim to this unwholesome act. We wish to inform the public that MTN’s Recharge and Win promo was concluded in March of 2005 and all the prizes have already been given to winners,” MTN said.

Recalling that likewise, the Y’ello Season promo and the Y’ello Family Game Show promo ended in December 2006 and the prizes won and presented.

“Anybody that is asking for PIN numbers of unused recharge cards in order to hand away the prizes is undoubtedly a fraudster and should be promptly reported by the subscriber,” said Mrs Oyagbola in a press statement made available to ITRealms Online.

Mrs Oyagbola further disassociated MTN from the scam promo and advised members of the public to quickly alert any MTN office or put a call through to our customer service centre number (180) whenever they receive any call or SMS requesting for recharge cards before they could receive prizes won at an MTN promotion.

“Winners of the various promotions in MTN have never been asked to pay before collecting their prizes. They have had their prizes delivered to them at the MTN offices nearest to them.

We even went a step further to deliver star prizes to the doorsteps of winners, as was the case with the Family Game Show promotion star prize winner,” she maintained.

Mrs. Oyagbola also warned perpetrators of this act and other such scams to desist from this unwholesome attitude as MTN, as a good corporate citizen and in order to protect its subscribers, is obliged to hand over their particulars to the law enforcement agencies for investigation and criminal persecution.