Beware of ‘phishy’ numbers While economies are dwindling, fraudsters are taking advantage of ‘insecure’ people

As digital solutions disrupt the banking industry, fraudsters have become increasingly sophisticated resulting in a surge in the number of cases of fraud worldwide. Unfortunately, the UAE is no exception to this trend. In 2018, there was a year-on-year increase of 18.2 per cent in fraud cases. These numbers increased again in 2019.

As Covid-19 continues to spread across the globe, top-down measures are imposed to slow down its effects and minimise potential damages. Countries across the globe are taking diversified approaches to fighting against the virus spread. When these measures are combined with the longawaited recession, being hit by a financial crisis in the virus era is inevitable.

While economies decline and employment rates drop drastically, cases of fraud are known to rise during recessions. Common scams are targeting victims via email, SMS, phone and social media, with fraudsters posing as genuine organisations including government entities, banks, and healthcare providers to trick victims into disclosing personal or financial information.

To combat this, UAE Banks Federation (UBF), the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE), Abu Dhabi Police, and Dubai Police, this month, launched the UAE’s first national fraud awareness campaign. The joint initiative aims to educate and protect consumers from financial cybercrime and fraud, particularly in light of the increased use of digital banking services during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The people are advised to remain vigilant while they stay at home and the national fraud awareness campaign will be rolled out across social and traditional media channels with the support of the UBF Fraud Prevention Committee and UBF’s 53 member banks. Under the theme #TogetherAgainstFraud, the content will include educational videos and articles that will raise awareness on how to identify scams and avoid them.

And as part of the campaign’s efforts to help banks and authorities spot trends and further combat fraud, UBF has launched a micro-website where customers can report fraudulent activity.

Abdulhamid Saeed, Governor of the Central Bank of the UAE, said: “As a nation, we continue our fight against Covid-19 and that includes combating fraud and cybersecurity risks in the banking and financial system. As digital banking transactions are witnessing a significant spike during this time, we at Central Bank of the UAE have been quick to deploy robust fraud prevention measures to protect consumers. Today’s announcement further validates this commitment.”

The national fraud awareness campaign will run until the end of the year, focusing on different topics every month. These include SIM swap fraud, phishing, vishing, lottery scams, vanishing ink scams, card skimming, email redirection fraud and data privacy.

As fraudsters look for opportunities to target consumers and as the public is engaged with the pandemic news, fraudsters are using different tactics to increase fraudulent activities on banking customers. While confirming that it never asks consumers about private information such as personal and bank account information, and warn consumers to be alert and aware of malicious Phone calls and WhatsApp messages claiming to be from CBUAE, The Central Bank of the UAE is also alerting the public to avoid responding to such calls, messages, and opening any hyperlink that may be attached, which may provide exposure to a malicious website and inform authorities immediately.