UAE: Received an unwanted marketing call from a personal mobile number? Here’s how to report it

Dubai: Have you ever answered a call from an unknown number, assuming it might be a colleague or relative, only to discover it’s a telemarketer promoting a product or service? Since August 2024, such calls have been deemed illegal under the telemarketing regulations introduced by the UAE’s Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA).

In fact, TDRA has encouraged people to report such calls in a recent post. Here’s how you can do it.

If you receive an unsolicited marketing call from a personal mobile number send ‘Report 05xxxxxxxx’ to 1012 to report the number via SMS.

Under the recent Cabinet resolution on telemarketing regulations, individuals are prohibited from making marketing calls using their personal fixed or mobile numbers, even if they are offering products or services they represent. Telemarketing calls are now only allowed from local phone numbers registered under a company's commercial licence.

Violating these regulations comes with significant penalties. The fine for making calls from unregistered numbers is Dh75,000. Additionally, using a personal number for telemarketing can result in a Dh5,000 fine and service disconnection for the first offence.

Repeat offences can lead to fines of up to Dh50,000 and a potential ban on obtaining services from licensed telecommunications companies in the UAE.

If you can see a company name flashing on your screen instead of a regular landline or mobile number, it is due to the ‘Kashif’ feature, introduced in 2022 by the TDRA. This feature empowers phone users by displaying the company name, allowing them to decide whether to answer the call. This minimises the risk of anonymous or misleading calls.

All private companies and institutions are required to use the Kashif feature when contacting customers.

This article was published in August 30, 2024 and has been updated since.