As reported earlier, Beeline subscribers became victims of fraudulent spam messages, which were disseminated through SMS and WhatsApp messenger on 25 October 2013.

The attackers disseminated information on suspension of licenses of Unitel LLC for designing, construction, exploitation and rendering services of mobile communication, quoting the corresponding decree.

On the same day, the State Committee for communication, information and telecommunication technologies of Uzbekistan and the operator denied the message. However, some subscribers rushed to subscribe to other operators.

Director-general of Unitel Andrei Safronyuk said that the press service of the operator, the State Committee for communication, information and telecommunication technologies and mass media reacted quickly and published denials.

He said that naturally, there were losses and some stir among subscribers. He said that part of subscribers did not put money to their balance on 25-26 October.

He said that according to the preliminary estimates, the loss of the company made up US$500,000. At the same time, he added that the incident did not impact subscribers’ base. He noted that some subscribers purchased the second sim-card, but they continue to use services of Beeline.

Andrei Safronyuk stated that the operator submit appeal to the Prosecutor-General’s Office of Uzbekistan on this incident. He said Beeline also sent request to administration of WhatsApp Inc to reveal initiators of the spam-attack. He said currently it is waiting for response of WhatsApp Inc.