Mobile phone users urged to beware of scam calls

Mobile-phone users have been warned about scams from people claiming to represent national service providers.

ABU DHABI // Mobile-phone users should beware of scam calls from people posing as genuine service providers, regulators have warned.

Most scam callers seek to illegally obtain important information – such as bank, email or social-networking account passwords – by promising users cash prizes, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority said on Sunday.

Users should avoid sharing personal information via telephone or email, the authority said.

“With the pace of technological advancement we are witnessing today, hackers are able to create a plethora of new and innovative ways to obtain personal information illegally,” said Mohammed Nasser Al Ghanim, the authority’s director general.

“This modern reality necessitates extra caution by customers when sharing any personal information with people via unreliable sources.

“In such situations, we recommend not responding to such requests for information and immediately reporting any incidents of this nature to the relevant emergency contact.”

Last year, a hoax campaign on the photo-sharing site Instagram claimed that the first 20,000 users to follow the account would receive free Emirates flights to Dubai.

Typical scams may involve cold calling, fake bank emails or phishing, emails claiming that users have won prizes, or emails from people asking for help transferring money or offering business proposals, according to the Dubai Financial Services Authority.