The central bank warned against fraudsters who take advantage of the busyness of dealers, by following the news of the new "Corona" virus and impersonating its official capacity through phone calls or messages through the application "WhatsApp", stressing that he does not make phone contacts with the dealers unless they make a formal complaint to him, as he does not Never used social media.

The Central stressed, in a statement, to be alert to such calls and messages, and not to answer them or open the links sent through them.

In detail, the central bank said in a statement issued yesterday: "Fraudsters are always looking for opportunities to target people, and with the public preoccupied with following the news of the epidemic (Covid-19), fraudsters seize this opportunity for financial fraud."

He added: “We confirm, we, the central bank, that we do not ask customers to disclose private information such as personal information and bank account information, and we warn customers and urge them to be alert of phone calls and messages that may reach them through the application (WhatsApp) claiming to be from the central bank, which is Of a fraudulent nature.

He continued: "The bank stresses the dealers not to answer such calls and messages, and not to open any link attached to them to avoid exposure of data to fraudulent websites, in addition to the need to inform the relevant authorities."

He said: “Traders should realize that the central bank does not communicate with customers via phone calls (unless the consumer’s complaint is recorded through the correct channels with a reference number), and it does not use social media at all to contact individuals or companies, and therefore, the relevant authorities must be informed With any suspected fraudulent call. ”

The Central affirmed that it works in coordination with the competent authorities in the country to limit these fraudulent operations.

On the other hand, the Central Bank revealed that the total oil exports to the state amounted to 211 billion dirhams last year, compared to 247 billion dirhams in 2018, a decrease of 14.7%.

The Central Bank stated in a report that in 2019, exports of hydrocarbons decreased by 36.2 billion dirhams, compared to 2018, mainly due to lower prices for crude oil and other products.

Meanwhile, non-hydrocarbon exports increased last year to 415 billion dirhams, compared to 410.6 billion dirhams in 2018.

The report added that last year witnessed a slowdown in the growth of non-hydrocarbon exports, mainly due to the slowdown in global economic growth, including the main countries to which exports are from the UAE, which reduced the demand for UAE exports of non-hydrocarbons.

In addition, in 2019 the re-export of imported goods increased slightly by 2.5%, or 12.9 billion dirhams.

The Central Bank stated in its report that, according to estimates, the current account surplus decreased from 148.7 billion dirhams (9.8% of GDP) in 2018 to 108.9 billion dirhams last year (7.4% of GDP).

This decline in the current account surplus in 2019 is due to the decrease in the trade balance (a decrease of 40 billion dirhams), which is linked mainly to the development of oil prices, as it decreased from an average of $ 73 per barrel in 2018 to an average of $ 64.6 per barrel in 2019.

The financial account deficit narrowed significantly in 2019 by 53.4 billion dirhams, compared to 2018, when it reached 73.5 billion dirhams, or 5% of GDP.

Messages

Spread over the past weeks, messages related to the postponement of loan installments and facilities offered by banks because of the Corona virus, and requests to share the bank data of customers from account numbers, cards and others.

The "bank" stressed the importance of not opening any link attached to the messages.