They take advantage of the names of well-known delivery companies

Fraudsters prey on their victims electronically through a shipment "in receipt"

• Abu Dhabi Police warns of false e-mail delivery requests.

  À archival

• Nikolai Soling: “Recently we have seen a significant rise in phishing scams, especially with regard to receiving shipments.”

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Citizens and residents reported to "Emirates Today" that they were subjected to phishing attempts via e-mail, as they frequently receive messages that take advantage of the names of well-known delivery companies, claiming that there is a shipment "under receipt", and they must pay an amount not exceeding 12 dirhams, via an electronic link in the message, To be able to receive the shipment, otherwise it will be returned again.

Individuals were victims of fraud that drained their money, as a result of their failure to take care and caution in their financial dealings on the Internet and social networking sites, according to recent police and banking reports.

Citizen Abdullah Muhammad noted the role of the state’s police agencies in educating members of society about the dangers of responding to these messages aimed at seizing individuals’ bank data and financial fraud, calling for the need to be careful when making online payments.

He pointed out that he noticed through the messages he received via e-mail, that the fraudsters do not raise the victim's attention or suspicions that the message is fake, as they use the name and logo of well-known delivery companies, which the victim may respond to, especially since the amount required to be paid is small.

And the citizen Abu Hazaa agreed with him, saying that some may fall victim to these messages, and click on the attached link, and make the payment process, to reveal the theft of bank card data, pointing out that this method of phishing depends on the idea that the victim might think that a member of his family requested the shipment, And then initiates the payment of the required amount to the fake delivery company.

He believed that individuals should investigate the validity of the information contained in such messages, ensure its authenticity, and not make a payment through fake links that arrive via e-mail.

Muhammad Abdul Hamid stressed the importance of continuing awareness campaigns on modern methods of fraud and electronic phishing, expressing his belief that raising cyber awareness among individuals is the only weapon to confront the danger of electronic fraud gangs.

For his part, Director of the Technology Department at Help AG, which specializes in cyber security, Nikolai Soling, said: “We have recently witnessed a remarkable rise in phishing, especially with regard to receiving shipments, because customers prefer online shopping instead of going To stores and malls, due to the fears resulting from the (Covid-19) pandemic.

Soling explained to «Emirates Today» that one of the common ways that trolls resort to is to send e-mails or texts, impersonating the identity of a well-known delivery company, and these e-mails or texts often claim that the delivery is due to the recipient, asking him to click on a link that leads to a fake web page. Designed to look like an official company website, trick the customer into paying a fraudulent delivery fee, entering sensitive information, such as their bank details, credit card numbers, and CVV codes, but the delivery never takes place, and the customer loses the money they paid, The phishers harvest personal customer data, so the scammers can use that data to withdraw their victims' money from their bank accounts, or make purchases using their personal details.

He emphasized that users must remain vigilant, and realize that they are not immune to phishing, so be careful not to click on any link that indicates an unexpected delivery, and it is necessary to be aware of any linguistic errors in the body of the message, or general impersonal statements, Such as “Dear Sir / Dear Madam”, as this may indicate that the sending party is illegal and seeks to phish information. Before entering any payment data on any website or application, it must be ensured that it is the official site or application of the delivery company.

Soling cautioned that if you encountered and accessed any forged website or received any notification of an unexpected delivery, you should report this to the relevant authorities, in order for fraud to be tracked down to the source and eliminated, thus preventing it from inflicting other customers.

For its part, Abu Dhabi Police warned of new fraud methods, which were recently discovered, including false delivery requests via emails, as the fraudster sends an email or text message to the victim, and asks him to make a payment for a shipment, and the customer clicks on the link, and enters his card data After that, the card data is used on an e-commerce site, and a one-time password is generated, after which the victim does not read the message accurately, and believes that he received the one-time password for the payment process that he makes and enters, and the fraudster obtains it and uses it to complete his purchase transaction .

She identified seven tips to avoid becoming a victim of fraud, the most important of which is not to click on links in emails or small messages, without making sure of their purpose, and making sure if he or a member of his family expects a shipment to arrive for them, reading the messages carefully, verifying their source, and verifying From email addresses that are sometimes similar to the original email addresses, the presence of HTTPS on the site, avoiding providing bank data through the “WhatsApp” program, carefully reading the one-password messages sent by the bank, and avoiding pressure on online promotions and communication sites that look good to Quite hard to believe.

She explained that the procedure to be followed when exposed to fraud is to immediately call the "Aman" service on the number 8002626, communicate with the bank, inform it of the fraud, go to the nearest police station and open a report.

• Abu Dhabi Police identified 7 tips to avoid becoming a victim of fraud.

• Raising awareness among individuals is the only weapon to confront the danger of electronic fraud gangs.

anonymous email

As part of its awareness campaigns, the Abu Dhabi Digital Authority has warned of fraud through anonymous email messages, calling on individuals to verify the sources of email and calls received, the quality of the information requested, and not to download anonymous attachments that may contain malicious software on your device.

She stressed that maintaining the operating system and software updates helps devices provide better protection, and makes them able to detect and delete viruses that enable them to steal data, pointing out that caution is one of the most important tools that protect against Internet and cyber risks.

Unreliable sites

Abu Dhabi Police warned individuals against sending credit card numbers or personal financial account numbers via e-mails or unreliable websites, stressing the need not to disclose personal data, such as identification number, account numbers or passwords, over the phone or e-mail, or Other electronic means of communication, except after being completely sure of the claimant of such data, and taking care and caution against those who call to request personal information without prior knowledge.

And she warned against financial transactions via free e-mail, and replacing it with alternative methods that provide more secure protection systems through approved companies, locally and internationally, that provide such services, revealing that the increasing use of such e-mail in commercial transactions makes it vulnerable to penetration by criminal gangs.

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