Abu Dhabi Police warn of con-artist callers claiming to be from bank

Force urges people not to share confidential bank details

Police urged the public to report suspicious calls. Alamy

Authorities in Abu Dhabi have warned of callers claiming to be from UAE Central Bank seeking bank details.

It also said to beware of a false text message, purportedly from Abu Dhabi Police, sent to prove the veracity of the scam.

The force urged people not to be duped by the fraudsters and said links contained in the text messages took people to fake sites that may seem legitimate.

Abu Dhabi Police advised the public not to share confidential information with anyone, including bank account or bank card information or online banking passwords. Banks do not ask for such details by phone, it said.

It urged people to report such calls by visiting a police station, ringing Aman security service on 800 2626 or sending a text message to 2828.

Authorities have stepped up efforts to clamp down on fake calls, a global problem.

In May, Sharjah police arrested 10 scam callers after a man reported being conned out of thousands of dirhams.

The victim received a call from a man claiming to be from his bank, requesting  confidential details so he could update its records. After doing so, at least Dh32,000 ($8,713) was siphoned from the victim’s account, police said.