The UAE Central Bank on Thursday warned residents against malicious WhatsApp messages of fraudulent nature which claims to be sent by the apex bank.
The message directs receivers to a malicious website and could expose them to hacking and leakage of their personal information.
"The Central Bank of the UAE today warns consumers to be aware of malicious WhatsApp messages claiming to be from Central Bank, which are of a fraudulent nature. The Central bank advises to avoid responding to such messages, and opening any hyperlink that may be attached, may provide exposure to a malicious website," it said in a statement on Thursday morning.
The Central Bank stated that the public should be aware that it never uses social media to contact persons or businesses and reminds consumers about the importance of protecting their bank account information and credit/debit cards from fraud and unauthorised use.
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"Dear Customer, your ATM card has been blocked, because you did not have an update yet. If you want your ATM card to work properly, then contact us at this," reads the fake message sent through WhatsApp.
Earlier this year, the Abu Dhabi Police had warned the public about fraud messages on social media applications, such as WhatsApp, which imitate trademarks and trusted websites, with the aim of stealing personal information, such as usernames, passwords, credit card numbers and other information that may lead to problems for users, who are required to report these crimes to the police, to track and catch the criminals.
In another incident this month, three men were jailed in fraud cases where the culprits contacted the victim via WhatsApp using a European phone number. He had told her that she had won a huge cash prize and she needed to deposit the amount two claim the prize.
By Waheed Abbas
