MyAdhan Blog

Link: Malaysia: SMS scam fraudsters usually use foreign telephone numbers

OVER the last month, Maxis has received about 100 queries via the donotdisturb@maxis.com.my about hoax SMS contests carrying the Maxis or Hotlink name. These queries were mainly to verify if the SMSes were genuine. “These messages have been in circulation in the past. They have misled many mobile subscribers, not just Maxis or Hotlink customers,” said Maxis Communications head of product development and infotainment T. Kugan. He said Maxis took the issue of spam and hoax SMS very seriously. “We have in the past taken a proactive position in alerting and educating our customers on spam SMS and dubious SMS contests promising handsome cash rewards. “In September last year, we installed the Maxis anti-spam platform. “This works as a firewall that blocks out spam and hoax SMSes based on keyword identification. “It stops unsolicited SMSes from reaching our customers. “Since the installation of the anti-spam platform, an average of a million spam and hoax SMSes per month have been blocked.” But offenders often looked for ways to circumvent the system, Kugan said, and sometimes some of these messages slipped past its blocking mechanism. “Because of this, we have a dedicated communication channel donotdisturb@maxis.com.my for customers to contact us about questionable SMSes. “Maxis investigates all complaints and adds new hoax SMS cases to our anti-spam platform’s database for future auto-blocking. “Usually, these SMSes feature a foreign phone number for the recipient to respond to. “This is an indication that the SMS could not have originated from Maxis or Hotlink. Customers are urged not to call these numbers.” He added that any SMS from Maxis or Hotlink would be sent from the Maxis sender ID, which is “Maxis” or “Hotlink”.