UAE firm warns residents: Scammers use employee identity to get credit card details

The firm said it would never ask for personal or financial information via email or any other means

Abu Dhabi-listed The National Investor (TNI) has issued an alert about scammers using its details to extract UAE residents’ and investors’ personal and banking information.

In a statement issued by the company on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, TNI said the company’s name and logo and employee’s names are being used by scammers to advertise fraudulent Investment opportunities and tenders online.

Of late, media has reported cases of fraudsters targeting UAE residents. A travel firm recently scammed UAE residents and hundreds of victims lost a million dirhams.

Similarly, another UAE resident lost her life savings of Dh200,000 to phone scammers.

In August 2023, Abu Dhabi’s judicial authority issued an advisory, warning residents of shopping scams that they may encounter online.

The alert came as reports of people falling victim to online fraud continue to emerge despite repeated warnings. Some racketeers have also been coming up with new ways of duping and hacking into residents’ bank accounts.

In August, Dubai resident, Rahul Khillare, lost Dh14,000 in an online scam while placing an order for Dh14 worth of food.

The National Investor said it would never ask for personal or financial information via email or any other means and be cautious in sharing personal and financial information.

“We would like to emphasise that TNI will never send tender requests or communications requesting your personal, business or financial information via email, mail, or any other means or ask you to make any payment or investments by such means. If you ever receive such a request claiming to be from us, please treat it with caution and do not provide any personal or sensitive information,” it said.

It added that these emails do not originate from TNI or any of its affiliates. “If you have received any such email, do not click any links in the email or provide any personal information (e.g. your bank details or copies of identity documents). There are a number of illegal advance fee scams in operation where our name and those of our Board of Directors and Senior Management are being impersonated and abused,” it said in another advisory note on its website.