Participants are asked to answer four simple questions and told they would get their 'gifts' within five to seven days
File photo
Time and again, companies in the UAE and other countries run online promotions to reward their loyal customers.
To take advantage of the situation, some scammers create fake websites and social media accounts to extract personal and financial information from Internet users. They run quiz competitions with logos copied from the companies’ websites in an attempt to convince people that the promo is legit.
But the companies in the UAE strongly advise residents to exercise caution when searching online and rely only on official websites and verified social media accounts to source information. Authorities have also issued similar advisories.
This holy month of Ramadan, an 'online quiz competition' has emerged — bearing the name of Dubai's flagship carrier Emirates.
As “Emirates Ramadan gift", it is offering Dh8,000 in cash giveaways if a participant answers four simple questions.
After the questionnaire, the scammers then ask participants to share the promotion with five groups or 20 friends and enter their address to "deliver gifts within 5 to 7 days".
Emirates, the world’s largest carrier in terms of international passenger traffic, denied that it’s running such a cash giveaway campaign and cautioned people against participating in unofficial promotions.
“Emirates is aware that there are online promotions circulating regarding cash giveaways during Ramadan. This is not an official promotion and we advise caution,” an Emirates spokesperson said in a statement to Khaleej Times.
“All Emirates' authorised content is hosted on our official channels, including our social media accounts marked with a blue tick,” said the statement.
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Waheed Abbas is Assistant Editor, covering real estate, aviation and other business stories that directly affect the lives of UAE consumers. He frequently reports human interest stories, too.