Banks in the UAE have asked residents to be aware of different types of fraud that are targeting customers.
Ranging from fake job offers to suspension of passports to impersonating government officials, scammers are targeting bank customers in multiple ways to extract their personal and financial details. Local banks also keep reminding their customers through regular emails and messages about different frauds.
Here is a list of eight frauds that UAE’s top banks have cautioned about to bank customers.
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Recharge your mobile or toll account
When browsing online, illegal websites might appear sometimes on search engines that imitate real sites. Residents have been advised to always ensure that the link or domain name are authentic and to look for security locks and certifications.
Customers should always reconfirm the amount and currency of the recharge and the merchant’s name before verifying any transactions.
Mismatched IBAN
Banks urge customers to avoid accidentally transferring funds to scammers by always making sure that IBAN matches to the account name that they are transferring funds to.
Non-realistic job offers
Sometimes, residents get messages from scammers who offer to earn $500 (Dh1,835) a day, which is quite substantial for many people.
“Beware of scammers pretending to be recruitment managers of global companies offering exciting side-hustle opportunities via unknown WhatsApp numbers, SMS or emails.”
Loyalty programme frauds
Some scammers send out messages to residents offering them reward points which will expire ‘today’. They ask residents to log in to certain websites to claim it. Banks in the UAE ask customers to be vigilant against SMS or messages claiming that the customer has accumulated points that are expiring soon. Fraudsters can scam people out of money or personal information when they log in to redeem these points.
Fake calls, messages about bank details or credit cards
Sometimes imposters pose as companies or suppliers and try to extract personal information and bank details of residents to credit money in their accounts. Therefore, bank customers should always verify this request with authorised people of the relevant company before taking any action.
Impersonating government officials
Of late, a new scam has been targeting UAE residents by tricking them into believing that their passports have been suspended and requesting them to share their residential addresses to avoid fines. Customers are advised to block and report such messages always.
Social engineering fraud
Banks advise customers to be careful and not to expose themselves to social engineering fraud. When people reply to unknown people on social media, and share their personal data with them such as their one-time password (OTP), they are exposing themselves to financial losses and other personal data.
Call from bank
Some scammers call customers claiming to be bank officials and seek details related to their accounts. The banks will never call and ask customers about their account and fund details. Therefore, customers should immediately hang up the call and alert the bank or authorities because frauds hide behind fake calls and big wins.