A bit of common sense, caution must

Cyber experts advise users to always pay attention to the address bar in their browsers. “Attackers exploit the fact that users ignore this and judge the authenticity of a website based on its look alone. Most official company websites use Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) which requires a valid and trusted server certificate,” said Nicolai Solling, CTO at Help AG, a cyber security firm. Users need to pay attention and ensure that the website does indeed begin with ‘https’. This is especially important for users connecting from their smartphones and tablets these web browsers in these devices do not display the website address bar.

“With the number of online scams that we see today, common sense is essential to remain protected. Be wary of anything that sounds too good to be true. A simple call to the concerned company could be sufficient to verify the offer is indeed authentic.”

Legal experts who have handled different types of job scams told Khaleej Times that ignorance of the law is not an excuse for employers.

Advocate Hashik TK from Universal Legal Associate, a Dubaibased legal firm, said: “A company can conduct interviews or get into job agreements only if it is legally registered with the Economic Department. Job offers cannot be made without getting required permission from the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation. Before giving money or making an investment a preliminary precaution is to check whether the company has a legal presence in the UAE.”

Such scams are well planned because the perpetrator knows that not many people will go after the Dh1,000 deposit. “This is how scamsters take people for a ride – stealing small amounts from a large number of people.”