The Federation of Emirates Banks, in cooperation with the Central Bank, Abu Dhabi Police and Dubai Police, launched the first national campaign to raise awareness of financial fraud.

A statement issued yesterday stated that the organization of the joint campaign comes in light of the increased risks of financial fraudulent operations and the exploitation of criminals by the "Covid-19" pandemic.

The initiative is expected to continue until the end of the current year, with a focus on each month on multiple topics, such as mobile chip switch fraud, online and mobile phishing, fraudulent lottery messages, magic ink checks, card fraud, e-mail transfer, and privacy data.

Fraudsters means

The statement expected that the frauds linked to the "Covid-19" pandemic will increase, as the fraudsters exploit people's fears and anxieties during these difficult times, pointing out that the frauds target new victims via e-mail, SMS, phone calls and social media, as he claims Scammers are real companies or organizations, including government agencies, banks and health care providers, to trick victims and obtain their personal or financial data.

The central bank urged the public to be vigilant against possible fraudulent activities by using its name, and also warned that there would be an increase in such types of fraud operations during the outbreak of the "Covid-19" pandemic.

Joint campaign

In turn, the Emirates Banks Union announced that it will implement the joint campaign through various traditional media and social media, in cooperation with its "Committee for the Prevention of Fraud", and all its 53 member banks.

Under the slogan "together" against "fraud", the campaign will include a series of educational videos and articles that will raise awareness of how to identify and avoid fraud.

The Emirates Banking Association also launched a mini website to support customers in reporting fraudulent activities.

Banking operations

The central bank governor, Abdul Hamid Saeed, said: “Just as the state continues to fight an epidemic (Covid-19), our efforts are combined to combat fraud and cyber security risks in the banking and financial sector.”

He added: "In order to protect the customers, we hurriedly at the Central Bank to spread awareness of the measures to combat financial fraud, especially since digital banking operations are witnessing a significant increase during this period."

For his part, Abdulaziz Al Ghurair, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Emirates Banking Association, said: “The digital transformation of the banking sector and the implementation of solutions via the Internet on a large scale have increased the complexity, quality and scale of financial fraud and cybercrime all over the world, and this is a serious threat to society that must be addressed , Especially in light of these difficult circumstances, as fraudsters exploit the state of fear and uncertainty caused by the outbreak of the Corona virus. ”

Al-Marri: Do not share confidential information

Dubai Police Commander-in-Chief, Lieutenant General Abdullah Khalifa Al-Marri, called on community members to cooperate with the objectives of the national campaign to address financial fraud, by not sharing any confidential information, such as account numbers, bank cards, passwords, and security codes behind the cards, with the need not to be behind any calls Phone or suspicious messages may reach them on "SMS" or through social media, pointing out that the sender's number is usually unknown, or from an unknown person or email.

Al-Sharifi: 13 gangs were arrested

The Director General of Abu Dhabi Police, Major General Maktoum Ali Al Sharifi, said that the Abu Dhabi Police seized 13 gangs of mobile phone monitors, the number of whom was 142, during the period of 2019 to February of this year.

He added: "They were luring people through fraud and fraud, as they are bank employees, asking them to update their bank statements, seize their money, or delude them to win fake prizes."