Fraudsters exploit the names of famous entities to steal bank accounts

People have confirmed that they have been subjected to various phishing and electronic fraud attempts, in which fraudsters exploit the names of famous entities and institutions to obtain and seize their account information, while the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation has warned its customers against phone calls from unknown numbers, which it describes as fake calls, falling within the category of “phone phishing.” It aims to obtain personal or confidential information, as the caller claims to be from an official body. She stressed the importance of verifying the identity of the caller before providing him with any data, and the state’s courts have recently heard dozens of cases related to telephone fraud and the seizure of victims’ money.

In detail, the employees: Saif Areez, Muhammad Abbasi, Anis Akash, Maheen Nazmoul, Nour Nabi, Khadija Siraj, and Mona Ahmed informed Emirates Today that they were exposed to various phishing and electronic fraud attempts, from people and unknown parties, after communicating with them via calls and text messages, and impersonating them. Names of famous bodies and institutions to offer job opportunities with lucrative salaries.

They said that the callers ask them for personal information or to click on a link that was sent claiming to complete employment information, or that they are an official body responsible for updating their data, and they ask them to reveal their banking information, under the pretext of updating work permits or winning an award, and other job procedures.

The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, on its account on the social networking site “X”, identified three necessary guidelines for dealing with this type of calls, which included avoiding providing any personal information over the phone, and verifying contact numbers through the entity’s official platforms (the website or social media platforms). In addition to noting that the entity’s name appears when its customer service center contacts followers.

The Ministry indicated that it provides 14 communication channels, while the number of languages ​​available to respond to customers dealing with call center services is 20 different languages, and the customer satisfaction rate with the call center reached 91.9% for the year 2024, pointing out that the communication channels include the call center (600590000), and the application. “WhatsApp”, direct chat service, email, communication platform, customer voice system, customer first forum, account statement, and communication sites. Social services, automated interactive response system, awareness notifications, technical support service, distinguished preferential service, in addition to the video calling service.

The Ministry confirmed that it had achieved a qualitative leap in customer satisfaction results, according to what its latest statistics showed, as the total communication operations with its customers through the “Tawasul” system reached more than 130 million communication operations from January 2022 to November 2024, most of which were general inquiries, and the total transactions reached During the same period, more than 88 million transactions were completed, and the total outgoing and incoming calls to the call center amounted to six million, 245 thousand and 894 calls, while The percentage of technical support requests and technical challenges faced by customers out of the total transactions submitted was less than 0.3%, which reflects the high confidence of customers in communicating with the Ministry and providing the best distinguished services to all customers in accordance with the latest technologies and international standards, exceeding their aspirations.

She stressed that the “Tawasul” system achieves the highest standards of competitiveness in providing leading institutional services, and takes advantage of modern technology to provide a happy experience for customers in their relationship with the Ministry, by providing pioneering services characterized by speed, ease, transparency, security and reliability, and provides the highest standards of privacy, within a sustainable approach and direction. To build and develop an integrated digital system for the Ministry, consistent with the state’s trends in digital transformation and future services.

On the other hand, the state courts recently examined dozens of cases related to telephone fraud, including a woman filing a lawsuit against five young men demanding that they be obligated to return an amount of 149 thousand dirhams, in addition to fees and expenses, noting that the defendants defrauded her by calling her by phone and telling her that they Employees of one of the entities that deals with her, and they obtained her personal data regarding her account and were able to withdraw her amount, amounting to 149 thousand dirhams, and they were convicted under Penal ruling.

In a second case, the court obliged a young man to pay a girl an amount of 78 thousand dirhams, which she transferred to him after he contacted her and deceived her by offering a fake job, and demanded that she transfer the amount to his account to employ her.

In a third case, an Asian resident was subjected to telephone fraud and 120,000 dirhams were stolen from his bank account after he gave the card’s PIN (CVV) and one-time password (OTP) to a fake bank representative. An Arab resident also lost 30,000 dirhams after he was lured by a gang consisting of Three scammers lured him into winning a grand prize from a telecommunications company and sent him a fake link. He clicked on it and were able to steal his account.

Abu Dhabi Police recently warned of a renewal of the deceptive methods of fraudsters and swindlers, luring victims in misleading ways, through which they are defrauded through fraudulent calls, links to forged electronic scam websites, and SMS messages.

It warned job seekers against “fake employment,” and against believing the lies of fraudsters who take advantage of the opportunity to hold official occasions and activities to defraud them, by creating pages for fake companies online as approved recruitment companies or programs on social media sites, and requesting payment of sums of money as fees for those fake jobs. Job applicants eventually discover that they have fallen victim to fraud. She appealed to the public not to share their confidential information with anyone, whether account or card information, online banking passwords, ATM personal identification numbers, security number (CCV) or password, and indicated that banking and bank employees will not ask This information at all.

Communication system

The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation confirmed that the successive legislative developments in the labor market, and the acceleration of the development process in the country, have increased the need of customers for support and communication with the Ministry, and obtaining reliable information and appropriate guidance, to which the “Tawasul System” responded effectively and professionally, due to preparation and continuous development. The modern mechanisms used in the service, the forward-looking view of the system’s work, and ensuring its readiness to meet the increasing requirements throughout the stages of the country’s rapid growth in various fields.

Employees:

We have been exposed to fake calls from anonymous people requesting personal information or clicking on a “fraudulent” link claiming to be employed or updating data.

. 3 guidelines for detecting fraudulent calls: Verify the caller’s information, the name of the party appearing on the phone screen, and do not provide personal data.

. “Human Resources” provided 14 channels in 20 languages ​​to respond to customers’ complaints and inquiries.