Beware: Don’t fall for this SIM card scam in the guise of a lottery draw targeting UAE residents
Phone users are being contacted by fraudsters who claim to be from telecom firm
Dubai: Fraudsters are again impersonating as staff of a telecom company in the UAE in order to trick mobile phone subscribers into giving away their personal information in a lottery scam that has just resurfaced.
The scammers are sending out a fake message purportedly from du, telling people that they have been selected in a lucky draw and won Dh200,000.
The recipients are then asked to call a number in order to confirm the code written on their SIM card, which could be a phishing trick that has already scammed consumers out of their hard-earned money.
According to an IT specialist, phone users should not share personal details regarding their mobile subscription, including the serial numbers on their SIM, as such information could be used by fraudsters to take over their account or steal their mobile identity.
“They could probably ask their telecom service provider to transfer your phone number to a new SIM,” the specialist said.
SIM swaps have recently been used by fraudsters to gain access to people’s credit card and bank accounts and steal a huge amount of money from unsuspecting users.
The telecom provider said mobile subscribers should always be on the lookout for any fraudulent messages that purportedly come from du. And in case they encounter suspicious messages, they should alert the company’s customer care or the authorities right away.
“We take incidents involving fraud very seriously. We would like to urge all our customers that in the event of any suspected or potential scam, they should either immediately get in touch with our customer care team or approach law enforcement authorities such as the police,” du said in a statement.