Dubai: People in the UAE have been warned to not fall prey to fake emails that appear to have been sent by the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship (ICA).
The authority posted a warning on its social media accounts, telling people to always be alert to fraudsters who may attempt to harm users by posing to be representing the ICA.
“ICA urged its respected clients to verify the authenticity of the ICA emails sent to them and check that they bear the UAE government domain – ica.gov.ae – to avoid any fake online attempts to harm users via fake links in the name of the ICA.”
One of the tricks that fraudsters may use is to send emails from domains that look similar to the ICA’s official domain. The authentic ICA domain is – ‘ica.gov.ae’
Fraudsters may change a single letter or character in the domain name above, which is why it is important to carefully check the sender’s email address.
You can also reach out to the authority through their hotline – 600 5222 22.
Protect yourself from fraud
Authorities in the UAE regularly raise awareness to ensure citizens and residents do not fall prey to fraudsters who may pretend to be from a certain organisation to retrieve valuable information and con people. The UAE Banks Federation has also launched a campaign educating people to follow a three-step approach – stop, think and protect – in order to fight bank fraud.
For a detailed guide on how to protect yourself from email, social media or phone fraud, click here.
