Abu Dhabi Police's 'Be Cautious' campaign to warn citizens of mobile, Internet fraud

 ABU DHABI: Authorities have launched a campaign Tuesday called 'Be Cautious' to create awareness among citizens of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) about fraudulent messages on social media and mobile application such as WhatsApp.

The Abu Dhabi Police warned last night that there were fraud messages on mobile applications, such as WhatsApp, that imitate trademarked and trusted websites with the aim to steal personal information, including usernames, passwords, credit card numbers, etc.

The General Command of the Abu Dhabi Police has started publishing stories of victims of phone fraud on its social media platforms, as well as broadcasting videos, alongside various awareness messages in Arabic, English, Urdu, and Filipino languages.

The Abu Dhabi Police also posted a video of a victim who received a message from fraudsters claiming that he won a prize. The man, of Pakistani origin, came forward to share his personal experience with phone scammers in the UAE and alert residents about their malicious scheme.

In the short video clip, the man speaks of how fraudsters tried to get money from him. He warned the Pakistani community living in the UAE to not provide fraudsters account numbers, ATM information, pin code or national ID numbers to unknown callers.

Colonel Mohammed Al Muhairi, the Director of the General Command Affairs Sector's Security Media Administration, stressed the importance of unifying police, community, and media efforts to counter various security issues.

This, he said, would help raise awareness about new types of fraud that aim to deceive public and exploit the increasing use of smartphones and new technologies. He also highlighted the efforts of the police to detect and prevent crime.

Al Muhairi added that bringing to light the real stories of victims helps make a very convincing case to raise public awareness since people can relate the experiences of others and are more likely to respond to advice that comes from another person who was subjected to a real fraud.

Al Muhairi also urged the public to report these cases by contacting the Aman Service on their number (8002626) or by sending a text message (SMS) to 2828.

Most of these scams are designed to steal personal information from residents and gain access to their bank accounts or credit cards.

The Abu Dhabi Police warned residents to avoid falling prey to scams that claim the recipient has won a ‘cash prize’ after the number of related incidents reported to authorities increased significantly in the past three years.

Brigadier Mohammad Suhail Al Rashidi, the acting Criminal Security Director at Abu Dhabi Police, pointed out that with telephone scams on an upward trend, police have been required to beef up their efforts in carrying out more regular — and consistent — public awareness campaigns.

Protecting oneself from becoming a victim

Top five ways on how to deal with electronic scams:

1. Never interact with strange numbers
2. Always maintain the confidentiality of personal financial information
3. Immediately inform security services after receiving a suspicious telephone call
4. Take extra caution when handling unknown telephone messages and        calls
5. Always verify the source