Doha, January 21 (QNA) - Ooredoo today warned customers not to trust "spam calls" from unknown numbers that ask for personal or monetary information, or pretend to be calling from Ooredoo or any other Qatar organization.

In recent weeks, there has been an increased number of complaints from customers who were called from numbers that appear to come from within Qatar, and were told they have won a major competition. The scam team then ask the person being called to send the numbers of Hala top-up vouchers as a "processing fee".

Ooredoo today confirmed that no such competition is taking place; that Ooredoo will never ask for Hala voucher numbers from customers over the phone; and that customers should not share personal information - particularly banking details and customer codes - with unknown parties.

The company is working with the authorities in Qatar to attempt to track the people responsible for this scam, according to a press release issued by Ooredoo.

Fatima Sultan Al Kuwari, Director of Community and Public Relations, Ooredoo, said: "We are aware of the current issues relating to fraudulent calls, and are doing everything we can to locate the source of the problem and prevent it from happening. We ask our customers to be cautious when receiving calls of this nature, and to never share personal information or financial details".

Ooredoo is supporting a range of measures to prevent people from being affected by these fraudulent calls. Customers can report the numbers to Ooredoo via the company's social media sites, so that Ooredoo can log them and block them from their system.

In addition, customers can block unwanted local SMS numbers via the Ooredoo App ‘block list’ feature that enables customers to block unwanted local SMS by inserting the sender’s number.

Customers simply need to download the latest version of the Ooredoo App for free via the Google or iTunes Store and register to begin a local ‘block SMS list’. Customers can add and remove names from the block list 24/7.

As well as providing the blocking feature, Ooredoo advises customers not to answer calls or respond to SMS from international numbers or local numbers that they do not recognize, Customers can report spam numbers to the company by sending a messages to Ooredoo Qatar’s online community (http://community.ooredoo.qa) Facebook or Twitter pages.

Ooredoo is Qatar’s leading communications company, delivering mobile, fixed, broadband internet and corporate managed services tailored to the needs of consumers and businesses. As a community-focused company, Ooredoo is guided by its vision of enriching people’s lives and its belief that it can stimulate human growth by leveraging communications to help people achieve their full potential. (QNA)