UAE: Fake job offers could turn victims into scammers, police officer warns

A senior police officer speaks to Khaleej Times about criminal syndicates that offer high salaries for recruits who unknowingly scam others and could end up being charged with possession of stolen money

Haneen Dajani

Published: Tue 12 Nov 2024, 6:00 AM

Last updated: Tue 12 Nov 2024, 9:36 PM

Falling for fraudulent job recruiters could turn you from victim to defendant, a top cybercrime official has warned.

Crypto scams, counterfeit government websites, fake e-services and bogus real estate opportunities have been on the rise lately, said Lt-Col Ali Al Nuaimi, head of cybercrime in the Abu Dhabi Police.

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There have been many cases of fake employers recruiting individuals to scam other victims unknowingly — and these new hires end up getting accused of being 'accessory to theft' when the fraudulent activities are later exposed, Lt-Col Al Nuaimi told Khaleej Times.

“Such cases have been on the rises lately," he said.

Lt Col Ali Al Nuaimi

The operations are often run by organised crime groups who hold 'imaginary investment wallets' internationally.

“They offer highly paid remote jobs where the employee seeks clients to invest in online crypto platforms in exchange for a percentage of the amount as commission.”

“The first victim – the employee — takes the amount from the second victim – the client — and transfers it to his recruiters, which makes him an accessory in the theft even if unaware of the hoax taking place.”

People involved in such cases were accused of possessing stolen money. “If it weren’t for their services, the offence would not have taken place," he said.

Meanwhile, scam orchestrators in such cases are charged with seizing stolen money.

Lt-Col Al Nuaimi said people should not trust a job offer that was entirely processed online. “The victims often say: We were interviewed through online chat, and we were asked to send copies of our passports, a medical test, bank account details… the things that employers normally ask for.”

There have also been cases of fake employers driving their victims to send them money for service fees, like issuing visas or work permits, or sharing details that compromise their accounts.

“The person then discovers that he has been scammed out of his savings while chasing an imaginary dream job.”

Recently, there have been many recent reports of fake government websites and social accounts that steal from victim's accounts by charging bogus service fees, added Lt-Col Al Nuaimi. “They create webpages that are identical to the original to fool Internet users into buying their services.”

An example the police recently came across was a fake ordering website for the popular Saudi restaurant Al Baik, the officer said. Other common practices include counterfeiting Amazon web pages, pre-paid transport services, and real estate ads.

How to verify website's legitimacy

The first step to check the authenticity of a website would be to examine its address — if it starts with https and ends with a solid .com, .ae, .us or so, that indicates legitimacy, Lt-Col Al Nuaimi said. One could also search for the company whose services are being offered in the webpage and check if it exists in the alleged location.

“Deceptive sites often include spelling mistakes, non-clickable icons, one or two pages max and transfer you to a different domain to make a payment. Authentic websites would have many sub-pages."

Online swindlers are widely using artificial intelligence to replicate public figures and social influencers, using their voices and movements, to trick audiences into investing in the services they are supposedly endorsing.

Examples include the never-ending ‘Salik stock’ commercials that pop up in almost every YouTube video.

“Log into any online platform and you will find a commercial for online trading — many of them are fake, and they are very easy to create using cheap applications that could imitate voices and personas,” Lt-Col Al Nuaimi said.

He advised people to investigate the origins of the online trading platform before taking any further action, and whether it has been registered in the financial market.

Such commercials, which have been created locally, are often tracked by cyber security police and eventually blocked. These include a phony news report that circulated earlier this year about an alleged investment platform claiming to grant users Dh5,000 per day to support younger people into making money without having to work. The video used AI depictions of Elon Musk, the renowned CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

“You don’t see that video online anymore because it has been reported and removed.”

Scam videos that are created abroad, however, are a little bit more complicated to be removed off the web and require the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority to contact the foreign websites in charge to carry out further investigations to intervene.

What to do when scammed or hacked

“Call your bank to freeze your accounts and report to the police as soon as possible,” said Lt-Col Al Nuaimi.

Prompt reporting of lost funds helps the bank and police retrieve the money or at least abort further transactions. “Even after the bank retrieves the lost amounts, we continue our investigations to catch the source of the scam and deter them from trapping more victims," he added.

Cyber police patrols surf the Internet around the clock looking for signs of imposters and illegitimate websites to take necessary precautionary measures, he said.

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