Scammers target Qataris with European lottery mobile fraud

Mobile customers in the Middle East and specifically Qatar have been warned by service provider Qtel to be on the alert for a highly-sophisticated phishing fraud which uses a blend of next generation technology to convince them that they've won a European lottery, in a bid to steal their bank and credit card numbers.

The fraudster first sends users an SMS message, telling them they've won a grand prize in a European lottery, and providing them with an international number - starting with the digits 00 42,366 - to contact.



"A number of factors indicate this is a particularly sophisticated fraud," said a Qtel spokesman.


"In total, over 20 number variations have been detected and blocked thus far," said Adel Al Mutawa, a director of Qtel. "The sophistication of this new fraud, and the fact that it is being targeted directly at the people of Qatar, reflects the growing challenges posed by international fraudsters using Internet and mobile phone technology," he pointed out.

The scam calls appear to originate in Liechtenstein - a Western European nation which has a population of less than 36,000 people - and this suggests that call routing is being used.


Source: InfoPowa News