Dubai Police warns of fraudulent links claiming to be “consumer protection”

The Anti-Fraud Center at the General Department of Criminal Investigation and Investigations in Dubai Police has warned against opening any electronic links or downloading any unknown programs claiming the status of “consumer protection”, in order to repeat the attempt of fraudsters to impersonate this status, to defraud victims and seize their money.

The Anti-Fraud Center stressed the need to verify access to official consumer protection channels in the event of submitting a complaint to them, and not to share bank data with any unauthorized party.

The Anti-Fraud Center stressed the importance of community members being aware of the fraudulent method in which fraudsters use electronic links that lead to a fake website impersonating “consumer protection,” and exploit them to access their phone data via malicious “remote control” programs, with the aim of transferring sums of money from their accounts.

The center said: “The victim who wants to file a complaint with one of the parties searches for a website to file a complaint with consumer protection, so he enters one of these fake websites and fills in his personal data (name, email, phone number, subject of the complaint), and then the fraudster contacts him directly,” claiming to be an official employee, as he recounts the details of the complaint that the victim wrote through the website to give him the illusion of credibility.

He added: “Once his trust is gained, the fraudster asks the victim to download remote control programs, then demands that he enter his bank account while these programs are running, so he can view his phone screen, steal his bank account data, and use it to make financial transfers or make illegal purchases.”

The center explained that these malicious programs used by fraudsters are designed to remotely control victims’ computers and smartphones, as they mirror the content of their device, giving them full ability to view confidential data and use it illegally.

The Anti-Fraud Center called on community members to immediately report any similar attempts via the eCrime platform or via the number 901, to protect their money and personal data.