5 fake news alerts in UAE that you need to careful about
If the offer is too tempting to be real, get in touch with the company involved to confirm
It is always raining offers in UAE, and scamsters are always on the lookout of unsuspecting customers to dupe them. From fake job interview calls to offers on your mobile bills, we are sure you have heard it all.
We list the five fake news alerts that you need to be vary of.
1. Telecom operators Etisalat and du warned their customers to be wary of scam callers pretending to be employees and offering them discounted on their monthly bills. Du send out a message to their customers warning them against imposters claiming to be Du employees. The message read:
“We have been informed that some imposters, claiming to be working for du, will offer you discounts on your du bill payments. Please do not accept any such offers. Please immediately report this to our customer care at 043905555 or fc@du.ae. These imposters are using stolen credit cards for payments,”
2. Desperation is a job seeker’s biggest enemy. So, not surprising that many fall prey to schemes asking them to pay Dh500 to send their resume to 200 companies looking for jobs. You will start receiving these calls as you list yourself on job portals. Also included in the service is drafting your resume according to Gulf market standards. Once you make the payment of Dh500, you will never hear from them again.
3. If you get a call saying you have won a huge prize money from Expo 2020, get alert. The company has warned people against believing in spam calls, misleading and asking them to share their SIM card and Emirates ID numbers, bank details and other personal information to claim a huge ‘prize money’.
4. Don’t get alarmed the next time the saleswoman offers you a piece of paper at shopping malls in Dubai to sniff perfume. Rumors circulated over the internet suggested these papers were laced with drugs and could make you unconscious. You could then be robbed of your belongings, but these rumors are completely baseless.
This is also not the first time that these rumors have been circulated. The UAE police have denied these rumors in the past too. So, go ahead and try that perfume sample. And buy it if you like it.
5. Recently, few customers were duped into believing that Dubai-based airline Emirates was giving away free airline tickets. The website winfreeticket.co was allegedly offering two free tickets to customers participating in a short survey.
In a statement to Khaleej Times, an Emirates spokesperson said: “Emirates has become aware of fraudulent websites claiming to offer free airline tickets to those who take an online survey. We advise consumers not to click on, or share these links on social media. Emirates is investigating the source of the scam and will take appropriate legal action against the perpetrators.”
Know the law:
Spreading baseless rumors in UAE over the internet could attract a fine or imprisonment or both, if found guilty.
According to UAE laws, violating internet laws including spreading false information or rumours online can be punished with imprisonment and a fine not exceeding Dh1 million.
Also, anyone using electronic medium with intent to defame or insult another person will also face imprisonment of not less than one year or a fine of not less than Dh250,000 or both.
Source: https://www.khaleejtimes.com/nation/5-fake-news-alerts-in-uae-that-you-need-to-careful-about
