Phone Scams in Dubai

Banking scams have multiplied in recent years. More and more people have fallen into traps and been robbed by these criminals. Many of them pretend to be the police or the central bank and ask for your banking details to prevent your bank accounts from being suspended. Although the police, banks, and others are doing everything they can to warn the public about this type of practice, many residents still fall victim to these types of fraud every day.

Banking scams on the rise in the Emirates

Even though authorities observed a decline in complaints over the past two years, they also noticed that complaints had begun to increase again. This is explained by the proliferation of gangs that operate these networks inside and outside the country. Law enforcement authorities emphasize that this type of fraud is one of the most serious threats to customers. Fraudsters pretend to be bank employees (for example, employees of the Emirates Central Bank) and try to obtain your personal and banking information in order to steal your money at the source (directly from your own bank account). Captain Abdullah Al Shehi, deputy director of the Cyber Crimes Department of Dubai Police, explains that gangs target the most vulnerable people, such as the elderly, by pretending to be police officers or government representatives so they can steal their money more easily. "Banks, the police, and government officials do not ask for personal information relating to bank accounts over the phone", emphasized M. Al Shehi. He also urges everyone not to respond to text messages claiming that their card may be blocked if they do not update their account details. Under no circumstances should you share your card numbers or PIN. "This is a trick to steal money from the bank account," he said. Many complaints describe the same scenario: a man with an approximate English accent calls his victims, pretending to be from the central bank, and asks for their banking details and PIN to prevent their accounts and cards from being blocked. It is only a few days later that the victims receive messages from their bank showing significant withdrawals.

New types of "phishing" methods

Massage centers in the Emirates

Jamal Salem Al Jallaf, director of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Dubai Police, said that these gangs use new methods to rob their victims. One of these new methods used by scammers is the use of massage services to lure potential victims. Once inside the massage center, the victims are tied up and assaulted until they hand over their bank cards and PIN to the criminals. Once they have these details, it is very easy for the criminals to empty the victims' bank accounts.

Hospitals

More surprisingly, this type of fraud also occurs in hospitals, where patients are vulnerable victims in the eyes of criminals. Police have already seen cases in which hospital staff stole and used patients' bank cards to make online purchases. Purchases amounting to around AED10 000. "It was discovered that an accountant and a cleaner at a private hospital were using a patient's Visa card to purchase products online," said a Sharjah Police official. Recently, police arrested a gang of 3 people of Asian origin (including a woman) for stealing more than 2.8 million Emirati dirhams through phone scams.

How to report phone scams in Dubai

Law enforcement authorities have set up a hotline to call to report any type of scam. Simply call 901 and report the phone number of the person who called you. During your call, you will be asked which department you want to contact. Choose option 3 to be connected to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). Once connected to the department, you only need to explain what happened to you and report the scammer's phone number to Dubai Police. If you have fallen victim to one of these scams and the person managed to obtain your personal and banking information, you can report the crime through the Dubai Police e-Crime portal, here. To avoid falling into these gangs' traps, we remind you never to disclose your personal and banking details to anyone other than your bank representative during an in-person appointment.

Your bank or the police will never ask you for this type of information over the phone.