I received a very peculiar call yesterday night. Apparently, a Mr. Ridzuan from Telekom Malaysia called, and enquired about how much I spend on phone bills per month on average. I asked him why he would like to know, he said that I had been selected as one of the lucky fixed line users who would be given the choice of a new package with the monthly rental fees of RM 26 waived.
So I allowed him to speak.
When I told him that on average my phone bills cost about RM 100 per month, he recommended that I take up a package where I can talk for 25 hours for only RM 128, instead of the normal price of over RM 300 per month. He also said that I would be given a trial period, which is in August, and that I could cancel it anytime if I found it not benefitting.
I said, OK, but please let me discuss with my fellow housemates.
He said, no, if I didn’t want to take up the offer, he would give it to another person in line, and reassured me that not everybody would be lucky to be selected for this offer.
Again, I stressed that I would like to discuss with my housemates before making the decision because if my housemates disagreed, I would be the only one paying for it. Plus, I said, my housemates seldom call home, so they might not find the package useful. I told him that if he couldn’t wait for me, he could give it to the next person in line, and that it would be OK with me.
Then he sounded differently. He suggested that I take up the offer and immediately activate it and he said he was sure my housemates would agree to it since the call rates would be much cheaper, at 19 sen per minute to any out-station calls as well as calls to mobile numbers, and that local calls would cost 3 sen per minute instead of the normal rate of 4 sen per minute.
I got really sceptical and impatient and said I would like to discuss the matter with my housemates. And I think he kind of gave up hope in trying to influence me. So he gave me a mobile phone number and said that if I decided to take up the offer, I could just send him an SMS with my phone number, full name and IC number. And this was when I thought this whole new-and-cheaper-package could be a scam.
I don’t know, have YOU ever received phone calls like this? Maybe I should make a call to Telekom Malaysia to enquire about this so-called new package. I smell something fishy..
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Sounds really suspect! Think you better d/chk with Telekom first as this sounds so much like hard sell. Some more why must u give him an SMS. Even if this is true, the way he is mkting shld be reported as it’s not right.
pelf: Yes, he sounded very pretty desperate on the phone, and the SMS-method is really suspiscious..
Sounds like one of those haox where they get you to give them your credit card number over the phone and stuff. But yeah, this is suspect.
pelf: Well, he did not ask for my information, in fact, he had my full name because the house phone was registered under my name.
always becareful when answering these calls, never give away your personal information too easily.. if that is good promotion, just go to any kedai telekom
i just wonder T.M. staff still working last nite? Sunday oo..
pelf: Sunday is not a problem, because over here in KT, Sunday is a working day.. *winks*
hmmm…. sounds fishy. i’m not sure bout malaysia but in aussie such calls do help you save heaps on yr phone bills.
pelf: Yeah I know, but my housemates seldom
call homeuse the phone. Usually I am the only one making out-station calls..“Orang yang tamak selalunya rug.” Don’t fall into the trap!
pelf: No la, I wasn’t intending to take up the offer.. But it would be good to find out the amount og trust befind that phone call though..
Ya… better be careful. Nowadays.. got a lot tipu customers case.. Better call Telekom.. !!
pelf: Yea, that was what I intended to do, but I am always not at home during office hours..
sounds like an attempted identity theft case to me.
pelf: I thought so too, but he did not request for any critival information from me though.. But is my IC number “critical” enough?
This is a scam for sure - Telekom is all about forms and forms and forms. How could you subscribe to anything without filling in forms?? And why would Telekom call you at night? Their people don’t even receive calls after 5 p.m.
pelf: This is so so true..
At the same time, if it’s really Telekom, you would have to call a fixed line number to respond to them, isn’t it?
This is something we call phishing - “phone fishing” - it’s a ploy to get you to part with your personal details.
pelf: But he got hold of my name and my phone number! So what can I do now?
It’s so easy to get phone numbers and the registered name under a phone number. The phone directory probably has it. On its own, that doesn’t count for much. If you’re afraid, you can ask to not have your name registered in the phone directory.
And if you have ever come across user databases, you’d probably be surprised. These are like lists of names and contact details that are sold openly in the market. Marketing companies like to buy databases and make calls to the users - to do telemarketing, for user surveys and what nots.
The important thing is not do give additional information. If they insist it is a real thing, ask for a Telekom number. Tell them you will call them back. If they say you can’t reach them on that number because it is a hunting line, ask them for their name and other details that will identify them so that when (and if) you take the offer, they can still get the credit (or commission) due.
I have learnt how easy it is to make a forged copy of photocopy IC - just user a color printer to print out an IC (any photo will do), changing the name, IC number and address so everything will match, and make a photocopy of that bogus IC, and then use it to make credit card applications, etc.
Since the company that receives the photocopy IC just verifies that the IC number, address and name matches, an identity theft case happens just like that.
Now you’ve been warned. This is a pretty serious problem.
pelf: OMG.. I am beginning to see how serious this is..
Just to show how available your phone number is under public domain, here’s the last 4 digits of your phone number: 4435.
pelf: Gosh.. You are right.. How the h*ll did you find that?!