Online criminals have stepped up efforts to steal money and credit card details from consumers in the UAE, cybersecurity experts say.
In the past few months there has been a surge in the number of scams involving fake deliveries and WhatsApp messages, said Tatyana Shcherbakova, senior web analyst at online security firm Kaspersky.
The UAE has long been enticing for hackers due to the country’s perceived wealth.
The pandemic has also attracted cybercriminals looking to exploit increased online activity, as many people work from home.
We’ve seen an increase in scams related to the delivery topic where criminals ask victims to pay a little sum of money for a fake delivery
Tatyana Shcherbakova
‘Criminals often adapt to the situation on hand,” Ms Shcherbakova said.
“In this case, and ever since the pandemic started, we’ve seen an increase in scams related to the delivery topic where criminals ask victims to pay a little sum of money for a fake ‘pending’ delivery.”
She said scammers have been taking advantage of a global disruption in deliveries, caused by the pandemic, which saw supply lines slow down around the world as borders closed to contain the spread of Covid-19.
This involved fake delivery invoices being sent to email addresses. In such cases, once the user clicks on the link they are directed to a fake website asking them for a payment to cover a customs charge to release the delivery.
Criminals have also targeted people via WhatsApp, informing them they had won a prize and needed to send payment to cover delivery costs.
She said cybercrooks continue to use all means at their disposal to extract money from people and even personal information in phishing scams, which could unlock sensitive financial information such as passwords and account numbers.
Phishing scams involve sending fake emails to numerous recipients in the hope some of them are tricked into clicking on the links.
“Criminals often rely on spam and phishing to try and trick users. One method used is social engineering, where criminals try to manipulate users into clicking on a malicious link and eventually giving out sensitive information like credit card details,” she said.
“Another method is a ‘chain scheme’ where a scammer asks a user to share the malicious link with their contacts - for other users it looks like the message from a person they know and do not suspect any wrongdoing.”
There were almost 350,000 phishing attempts blocked by Kaspersky in the UAE during Q2.
The Emirates faced the fourth-highest number of attacks in the world, according to the cybersecurity firm.
Only Spain, Italy and Germany had more attempts to redirect people to fraudulent websites in that period.
Another cybersecurity expert said people needed to pay attention to emails.
“If you are expecting a package or you receive a message regarding a package you weren’t expecting, go to your phone’s app store and download the relevant app directly or visit the shipper’s website and type the tracking code in,” said Brian Chappel, director of product management for BeyondTrust, a cybersecurity firm.
“Links in messages you weren’t expecting should always be treated as suspicious.
“Also remember that no service is going to ask you for information in ‘recently sent emails’ as proof of your identity.”
He said it is advised to reach out to the company that supposedly sent the email or phone call.
“If in doubt, hang up and call directly – they really won’t mind if it’s really them,” he said.
“Don’t, however, take a number from the caller to ring them back.”
Another scam people should be alert to was strange numbers calling several times and hanging up, said Tarek Kuzbari, the Middle East regional director for Cybereason, another cybersecurity firm.
“Be aware of calls from strange numbers especially if they phone you few times and hang up as they make money when you call back,” he said.
“Sometimes you will also get messages telling you have won a prize like a car in a draw and they just need to share personal details. Unfortunately, a lot of people fall for these scams.”
Online job scams - in pictures
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
The specs: 2018 Volkswagen Teramont
Price, base / as tested Dh137,000 / Dh189,950
Engine 3.6-litre V6
Gearbox Eight-speed automatic
Power 280hp @ 6,200rpm
Torque 360Nm @ 2,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 11.7L / 100km
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Tottenham v Ajax, Tuesday, 11pm (UAE).
Second leg
Ajax v Tottenham, Wednesday, May 8, 11pm
Games on BeIN Sports
