Comms: Fraudulent SMS spam victimises Shell in Malaysia
An SMS spam in Malaysia has all the hallmarks of a fraudulent scheme claiming a large prize will be given by Shell.
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The SMS gives its outgoing number as +6 019 531 2343 and says, in Malay, that the recipient's SIM card has been identified as a winner to claim MYR20,000 from Shell's Malaysian company.
In a country where many people earn less than MYR1,000 per month, that is a very substantial prize.
Recipients are invited to telephone a different mobile number and quote a serial number specified in the message.
This is not the first instance of this particular fraud: a similar scam also circulated in 2007 and 2009. Previous victims say that they have called the number and the person answering asked them for personal information including bank account details.
The spam refers to Shell Berhad but this is not the correct name of the company.
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