Dubai: The Emirates National Oil Company (Enoc) has cautioned residents over the latest scam making the rounds in the UAE.
As part of the con, the scam artists sent out numerous emails to residents claiming that Enoc has updated its bank account details, and “advised that the bank details for the settlement of future invoices should be changed.”
To prevent residents from falling for the scam, Enoc warned customers not to respond to the false allegations.
It has been brought to our attention that unauthorized individuals are falsely using the ENOC name in an attempt to fraudulently receive payments.— ENOC (@ENOC) August 12, 2018
Residents who receive such types of correspondence should immediately get in touch with their existing Enoc point of contact or email ethicsenquiry@enoc.com to verify the information.
If you receive such communication, please do not respond; treat it as a potential fraudulent attempt and immediately get in touch with your existing ENOC point of contact or email ethicsenquiry@enoc.com to verify the information.— ENOC (@ENOC) August 12, 2018
Various other scammers have copied the Enoc/ Eppco brand in an attempt to dupe unsuspecting customers into making false payments.
Other types of scam that have used the Enoc and Eppco logo in the past include:
Recruitment Scam
Offer of employments falsely on behalf of ENOC. Candidates are contacted by someone claiming to be a representative from Enoc or Enoc's agent. Candidates are interviewed over the phone or via skype and may be referred to Enoc's website for further information. Fake employment offers are sent with the Enoc logo and solicit the transfer of money for work permit, visa administration, agency fees, deposit on accommodation, medical check up, etc.
The fraudsters may also ask for personal information such as bank account details to set up salary payments. In reality, any fees that are paid go straight to the fraudsters and they stop responding to any communications from the candidates once the fees are wired or transferred.
Advance fee scam
May take many forms but in essence, it involves people being persuaded to send an advanced lump sum of money in the hope of receiving a larger gain. The gain is, however, never realized. The fraudster claims that the victims will be reimbursed in the future once the upfront fee is paid.
Grants or awards scam
Involves an unexpected email, letter or call advising that a prize has been won or that the victim’s name has been drawn in a raffle. The fraudster will invariably request a fee that is required to either improve the chances of winning, process the wining, pay bank fees, government taxes, shipping charges, etc. The fraudster may also request for personal information to confirm the identity of the victim and to collect the winning. All claimed winnings are stalled and the scammers try to collect as much money as they can in fees and charges.
How to detect scams
1. Enoc officials do not communicate via generic email addresses such as Hotmail, Yahoo. All communications will always originate from a verifiable Enoc e-mail address (domains of @enoc.com) and not from any free web based email accounts.
2. Enoc and Enoc recruitment agents do not ask for payments from applicants at any point in the recruitment process.
3. Individuals who are successful in gaining an offer of employment from Enoc, whether directly or indirectly, are always required to go through a formal recruitment process. During the recruitment process, the candidate will meet in person with an Enoc employee or representative for an interview before any formal offer is made.
4. Fraudsters usually ask targets to respond quickly or risk missing out.
5. Fraudsters usually request targets to keep business proposals or winnings confidential.
6. Fraudsters usually communicate only via email and telephone with a reluctance or a refusal to meet in person.
7. Conduct general online searches to verify the details provided in false letters and communications (such as the CEO's name, or the names of companies that claim to work under the Enoc Group).
Contact details
To report about any suspected scams using the name of Enoc, residents can contact:
Ethics Hotline: 800 Enoc Ethic (800 3662 38442)
Ethics online reporting tool: www.enoc.ethicspoint.com
