Tricking callers of winning prize money
Andr? Williams, STAR Writer
Scammers, using sophisticated techniques have cloned the voice of well-known media personality Khadine ‘Miss Kitty’ Hylton, and are fleecing money from unsuspecting customers of telecom giants Digicel, of which Hylton is a brand ambassador.
THE STAR understands that in at least one instance, as a result of the ongoing scam, a victim was tricked out of US$485 or its Jamaican equivalent $54,320, all of which was sent over to an individual who reportedly used the name Denise Williams.
A relative of the victim told THE STAR, “last week Thursday dem call her saying this is Miss Kitty and used her popular shout ‘lalalalalalala’ saying that she was a winner in Digicel summertime promotion “They asked her to call back to confirm her winning number, when she did they asked her to hold a moment to transfer the call.”
The relative continued, “My understanding is that when the call was transferred, someone purporting to be Miss Kitty came on the line and confirmed the winning, and said the prize was a trip to America and $400,000 cash, adding that four persons could accompany her on the trip.”
When quizzed by THE STAR if the victim had entered any contest, the relative was quick to state, “She never knowingly entered any contest, but a Digicel and sometime when you add credit you are automatically entered in a contest and she knew of some type of promotion going on.”
Our news team gathered that the victim was also informed that a family member who resides overseas would have to make contact with the competition’s organisers to establish that they would receive the group on arrival in the United States. THE STAR was told that contact was made with a family member living in the US who agreed to receive the group.
The relative said, “When our cousin called them, she spoke to the same Kitty person and the promotion was again explained to her. They then told her that she needed to pay a processing fee in order for them to receive the tickets to travel, and the prize money to be paid out.”
THE STAR was told that US$485 was sent by the relative.
When our news team contacted Miss Kitty, she informed THE STAR that she is aware of people pretending to be her and that the scam came to light a year ago.
She said, “It has been happening from a year ago or so, I have tweeted, I wrote about it in my articles, I spoke about it in my interviews, I have spoken to the police, I have done all that’s within my powers. Persons must not be stupid enough to allow these heartless dishonest persons to take their hard earned money.”
Miss Kitty also told THE STAR that scammers in the past have even contacted her pretending to be her.
She said, “They have even called me pretending to be me, you understand what I’m saying? I’ve worked hard to build my brand and I cannot afford for these practices to be associated with my name, I’m beseeching that these scoundrels desist and again people must not be so gullible or vulnerable, when in doubt leave it out or ask dem to take for example the 10 out of the 20 and send the balance …”
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Scammers clone Miss Kitty"s voice
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