Featured | Nov 21,2020
Nov 20 , 2021
By Kidist Yidnekachew
It is amazing how people come with various tactics to deceive others. Every once in a while, we hear about a scam, some more common than others. Scamming takes wit, confidence and the ability to confuse and convince. However, people make it easy these days because we are often absent-minded, especially when we are scrolling on our phones. It has made us easy prey for scammers.
The famous one a lot of my friends have experienced is the spit scam. The pickpockets spit on someone’s pants then take their phones while pretending to wipe the spit off their clothes. It is usually two guys sitting in a car. The one on the passenger seat will spit intentionally on a person, then he pretends to be shocked and have the car pulled over and parked to the side. He will insist on wiping it with a piece of cloth or paper tissue while the driver distracts the victim by apologising profusely. The guy wiping off the spit will pickpocket a phone in the process.
Many of these pickpockets rent a car just for this purpose.
Does the cost of used phones cover both car rental and the probability of being caught? How many phones would they steal a day?
They must be getting profit from it; otherwise, this scam would not have gone for as long as it has. The pickpockets are obviously witty because they have figured out a way to create an illusion to steal without being caught. It is a shame to see talent wasted in this way while it could have been used on something productive.
A different type of scam recently was attempted against me. I received a call from an unknown number with a man on the other side telling me he had accidentally sent me a monthly gift voice package. Indeed I had received a text message just before, but I did not pay attention to the number. I figured the package was sent by mistake. The guy called me twice asking me to return the money or send him back the package. I said I will, but to wait for the moment.
When I had gathered my attention, I saw the text. It was a monthly voice package of 375 minutes at 95 Br. But when I checked my credit on my phone, I did not have that much. Confused, I rechecked the text and noticed that it was not actually sent from Ethio telecom but the guy’s number. He merely copied a similar message from the phone operator and sent it to me to make me think that I had received a gift package. Many people do not notice the number, just the text itself. The guy must have had easy pickings.
I nearly fell for this same trick another time. I had no doubt but called a friend and asked to confirm. It was true. This was an attempted scam. I called the scammer and told him that he had got the nerves to try such a scam on me and that I was going to report him to Ethio telecom. But he hung up before I got to finish my sentence. I am glad I confronted him. At least now he knows not everyone falls for this kind of thing. Perhaps he will stop or think up another way of swindling people.
We need to be vigilant and pay attention to such scams. They will only be getting worse. While more financialisation and digitalisation of the economy make transactions smooth and flexible, it also widens the scope for us to get scammed by those savvy, but unethical, enough.
PUBLISHED ON
Nov 20,2021 [ VOL
22 , NO
1125]
Featured | Nov 21,2020
Covid-19 | May 31,2020
My Opinion | Mar 25,2023
Commentaries | Sep 06,2020
Commentaries | May 16,2020
Commentaries | Apr 28,2024
Commentaries | Nov 21,2020
Viewpoints | Jul 23,2022
Commentaries | Mar 30,2024
Featured | Sep 10,2021
Photo Gallery | 185857 Views | May 06,2019
Photo Gallery | 175898 Views | Apr 26,2019
Photo Gallery | 171456 Views | Oct 06,2021
My Opinion | 139412 Views | Aug 14,2021
Dec 22 , 2024 . By TIZITA SHEWAFERAW
Charged with transforming colossal state-owned enterprises into modern and competitiv...
Aug 18 , 2024 . By AKSAH ITALO
Although predictable Yonas Zerihun's job in the ride-hailing service is not immune to...
Jul 28 , 2024 . By TIZITA SHEWAFERAW
Unhabitual, perhaps too many, Samuel Gebreyohannes, 38, used to occasionally enjoy a couple of beers at breakfast. However, he recently swit...
Jul 13 , 2024 . By AKSAH ITALO
Investors who rely on tractors, trucks, and field vehicles for commuting, transporting commodities, and f...
May 9 , 2026
The Ethiopian state appears to have discovered a fiscal instrument that is politicall...
May 2 , 2026
By the time Ethiopia's National Dialogue Commission (ENDC) reached the end of its fir...
Apr 25 , 2026
In a political community, official speeches show what governments want their citizens...
For much of the past three decades, Ethiopia occupied a familiar place in the Western...
May 9 , 2026 . By NAHOM AYELE
Finance Minister Ahmed Shide entered the last quarter of the fiscal year with a budge...
May 9 , 2026 . By NAHOM AYELE
At the Federal High Court's Lideta Division, on Dejazmach Bekele Weya Street, one of...
May 9 , 2026 . By BEZAWIT HULUAGER
Mayor Adanech Abiebie's cabinet has approved an additional 9.9 billion Br budget, a m...
May 9 , 2026 . By BEZAWIT HULUAGER
The fight over Cosmo Trading Plc has outgrown the courtroom where it began. What star...
Loading your updates...