Bharti Airtel posted an advisory on their website, advising subscribers to beware of certain ‘Unsolicited fraudulent SMS’s’ circulating on the network. According to the Airtel disclaimer, the recent chain of messages informs recipients that they have ‘won a prize and need to call to collect their prize’. On calling the number in the text message, subscribers are billed a high amount (up to Rs. 500/min). Airtel said they noticed these SMSs in one of their circles and are advising subscribers to ignore them. Airtel also warned that replying to such SMSs could result in viruses being downloaded on the subscriber’s phone.
After spam and phishing mails, spam SMSs are making their presence felt. Such SMS hoaxes are not a new phenomenon in India and cash in on the recipient’s incredulity by making use of ‘get rich quick’ themes and ‘free gifts’ to allure mobile phone users. Continue reading “Beware of hoax SMS says Airtel”