UAE warns residents against responding to suspicious phone calls, messages

The Ministry of Interior (MOI) has issued a warning to UAE residents, advising them not to engage with suspicious phone calls and messages that are potential sources of fraud and electronic blackmail.

The MOI, in a statement, said that the public should be cautious regarding calls and messages claiming to update the user’s data in the Ministry of Interior’s system. "These fraudulent requests, asking for information sent in an OTP, are not initiated by official authorities," the statement said.

The Ministry emphasised and reminded community members that legitimate authorities do not use text messages to prompt customers for data updates. Residents are urged to exercise caution and refrain from sharing personal information in response to such dubious calls and text messages.

Earlier, the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (Mohre) issued an alert warning residents of a scam message that bears its logo. The fake document, which also has the logos of other government entities, was titled "Legal notice from Ministry of Interior". It was asking "customers" to provide and "verify" bank details, or else the account would be frozen.

This tactic is often used by fraudsters to get access to people's bank accounts and wiping them out of savings. In its advisory, Mohre urged the public to ignore the message and report the scam.

Here's how a copy of the fake document looked like:

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