he UAE, following the CIS countries, is increasingly facing an increase in fraudulent schemes aimed at bank customers. In practice, calls and messages from people posing as employees of banks, police, government agencies and other organizations have become more frequent in order to gain access to personal data and banking transactions.
Fraudsters use various pretexts to request SMS codes, passwords, and other confidential information.
Our clients received letters from “official authorities” from addresses where only one letter differed from the real domain.
Calls are coming in from people posing as bank employees or the police, reporting a “suspicious transaction” and demanding urgent verification.
Fake websites of banks and government agencies are created, outwardly almost indistinguishable from the original, to enter a login, password or OTP code.
Important:
No bank, government agency, or other official organization requests confirmation codes, passwords, or access information by phone or in messengers.
Any such request is a sign of fraud.
What is recommended to customers right now:
- check statements and operation history regularly;
- keep the bulk of funds in accounts that are not linked to cards;
- in case of any suspicion, contact the bank immediately only through official channels;
- if there are signs of data compromise, consider reissuing the card.
Even with the high reliability of banking security systems in the UAE, protection will not be effective if the client independently transmits confidential data to intruders.
UAE banks are finalizing the transition from SMS and OTP confirmations to verification of card transactions through mobile applications. The purpose of the changes is to reduce dependence on SMS codes and strengthen customer protection from fraudulent transactions.
If you have any questions or require a consultation, please contact us.
Eleonora Tsargush
Senior Manager, Global Banking, CSP
