T

hat suspicious text message you just received? It might just be a hoax. Swindlers have gone high tech and adapted their scams to the ubiquitous cellular phone.

Jakartans have reported receiving messages from “relatives” asking the recipient for cell phone credits — or even messages stating recipients had won the lottery, but needed to transfer money to a certain
bank account before collecting their winnings.

Baharuddin Solongi, 45, said he received several text messages from a person who claimed to be his mother asking him to transfer credit to her cell phone.

Baharuddin ignored the messages until one day he received a phone call from a man who claimed to his uncle, asking Baharuddin to send him Rp 100,000 (US$11.10) in phone credits.

“When I heard his voice I thought he was really my uncle because it sounded like him,” Baharudin said.

He said sent the credit immediately — only to find out later that his uncle had never called.

“I was quite upset but what can I do? It already happened,” Baharuddin said.

He continues to receive messages from several numbers asking him to transfer more credits, but now he ignores the requests, he said.

He did not report the case to the police because the amount he lost was insignificant, he said.

Uyung Kurniawan, 66, a businessman, said he received a text message that said he had received a picture message, along with instructions on how to open it.

“Apparently the instructions were for transferring cell phone credits to the another number,” he said.

He has ignored subsequent messages employing similar techniques — including a purported message from his mother, he said.

Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Boy Rafli Amar said that the police could not take action unless a victim filed an official report with the police.

Boy called on people to be careful when reading text messages, to check with relatives if messages seem suspicious or ignore suspect messages altogether.

Cellular phone service providers are aware of the phenomenon and offer call center services to consumers.

Telecommunications giant PT Telkomsel spokesman Ricardo Indra said customers can contact its call centers to lodge complaints or verify Telkomsel information: 111 for postpaid numbers and 116 for prepaid numbers.

“So far, our call centers have received many complaints — around a thousand calls a month from throughout Indonesia — asking about text message hoaxes,” he said.

He added that after a consumer filed a police report, the company would assist the authorities with to track the numbers used by the swindlers.

“This may result from too many free text messages offers provided by many operators, which have finally been used for various intentions, including fraud,” he said.

Another provider, PT Excelcomindo Pratama (XL), offers customers similar protection with its 817 24-hour call center.

“We have also partnered with talk shows and the electronic media to educate our consumers,” XL representative Febriati Nadira said.

She said XL regularly sent consumers broadcast text messages stating that the company never announces lotteries via text messages.

“It is always been announced through the media and winners will never spend a penny to get their prizes,” she said.