Gsm Hacks!!!Be Aware...

RAHIM YAR KHAN, June 6: Scores of cell phone users of a company in the district have no clue to the loss of their pre-paid balance during May. As the company officials based here are not ready to help them out, the hapless subscribers do not know which door they should now knock at.

A good number of customers, after loading their pre-paid Mobilink Jazz cards in the first week of May, found Rs100 to 1,200 balance consumed without being used the very next morning. They immediately approached franchised outlets and the company’s local offices but to no avail.

In the second week of the month, those who had re-loaded their balance in April lost some amount in the same fashion. When the customers again visited the company offices, they were advised to lodge their complaints with the Mobilink helpline or the head office. “You must have dialled someone in the UK or Saudi Arabia,” was the reply complainants got from the helpline.

Although complaints are pouring in from the entire district, Rahim Yar Khan and Khanpur are the worst-hit towns. Some complaints were also reported from Bahawalpur and Lodhran.

While no responsible official was ready to speak on record, a company employee gave out that someone had developed a ‘Super SIM’ at Khanpur, a nearby town, which could hack the company’s pre-paid balance software and consume the balance of any customer.

He claimed that the ‘Super SIM’ was on sale for Rs2,000 in the market. In the beginning, the device was sold to acquaintances at some shops, especially PCO owners, in Khanpur and Rahim Yar Khan. Now it was being sold rather freely.

When the Super SIM, also know as ‘six-in-one’, is inserted in a mobile set, it is hooked up to the Mobilink network after two to five attempts. Several attempts at *111# can lead the user to any balance of another customer. When the balance is displayed, the user has to dial his required number in 30 seconds to stay connected to the Mobilink network. Once connected, one can talk as long as the balance permits.

A customer of Khanpur said the Super Sim was now available there by the name of ‘Magic SIM’ at Rs1,000 each.

Mian Cable Network, Link World Mobile shop and Global Mobile shop were selling these SIMs through selected salesmen. He said several people of Faisalabad and Karachi had also purchased this device from Khanpur.

Rahim Yar Khan’s Mobilink zonal manager Qazi Nadeem Ahmad, who admitted receiving complaints, sought time to respond to Dawn’s queries, but did not attend calls afterwards. Shahid Naeem, the company’s franchise representative, said all complaints had been referred to the head office but it had failed to address the problem.

A company spokesman in Islamabad said the customers had been advised to contact the Nine City Customer Centre in Rahim Yar Khan. He said all grievances would be redressed.

Another company official said the Super SIM could hack the software of any cell phone operator and that the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority should act swiftly.

The PTA, on the other hand, was not aware what was going on in Rahim Yar Khan. A senior official based in Islamabad said no body had reported this to the PTA so far.

CUSTOMERS: Visits to the local mobilink offices on Monday and Tuesday revealed that the number of complainants were rising.

Some of the complainants present there criticised the company and the PTA.

Kaleemullah, whose cell number is 0300-9678713, said he had lost Rs1,200 balance and there was no-one who could explain him how did it happen. Muhammad Yaqoob (0301-7610242) who lost Rs255 said he had stopped buying the pre-paid cards for the moment. Muhammad Ashraf (0301-7634135) lost Rs300. He wanted refund against his SIM.

Muhammad Anwar, another customer using the number 0300-6739163, lost Rs550, Nazir Ahmad (0300-6702153) lost Rs400, Haq Nawaz (0300-7824376) had to forgo Rs300 and Arif Ali (0301-6550789) Rs250