UAE scam alert: Police warn residents of 5 common frauds; here's how you can stay safe

Abu Dhabi Police warned residents against the various methods used by fraudsters in misleading victims.

Scammers are notoriously known to mislead victims through fraudulent calls, links to websites, and fake SMS messages impersonating government institutions used for trolling purposes and offering the public with fake services and temptations.

Fraudulent internet sites may come bearing names of famous restaurants and shops and offering special offers to the public for payment of a fee through which the credit card details are withdrawn after completing the payment process of the fake site.

The authority also advised the public to not interact with with fake electronic ads that offer pets for sale or adoption and shipping and insurance from outside the state advertised through social media sites.

Sometimes, victims are asked to send money to bank accounts opened for the purpose of theft, fraud, or requesting money transfer through local and international exchange companies authorized by the state.

Job seekers are warned of ‘fake recruitment’ posts and are advised to not fall into the traps of scammers. These fraudsters will often hold official events to scam people. They even go to the lengths of creating pages for fake online companies made to look as recruitment agencies and use this to extort money out of the applicants in the form of an application fee.

The public has been urged not to share their confidential information with anyone, be it their account or card information, online banking passwords or ATM security number (CCV) or password.

It is important to know that bank employees will not ask you for this information at all.

Abu Dhabi Police asked the public to go to the nearest police station and quickly report any calls received by anonymous people requesting them to update their banking details.

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