Abu Dhabi, UAE – April 6, 2021: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB), a leading Islamic financial institution, hosted an educational webinar today with Abu Dhabi Police which aimed to highlight the recent fraud scam that public could fall into and answer questions on how customers can recognize and protect themselves against financial scams, as well as which authorities to notify in such situations.
The webinar was led by Mohammed Issa Albalushi, Head of Fraud Risk Management at ADIB and member of the UAE Banking Federation Fraud Prevention Committee, and Captain Mohammed Rashid Al Eryani, from Abu Dhabi Police’s Criminal Investigation Department, and was coordinated by Eman Al Shehhi, Senior Marketing Communication Officer at ADIB. The session discussed fraud trends mainly related to phishing attempts that consumers mainly receive through calls, emails or text messages and social media, providing tips for how public can protect themselves against such fraud trends and how should they respond in case they encounter fraud. Such scams commonly involve criminals purporting to be trusted institutions in an effort to deceive customers into sending money or revealing financial information.
Mohammed Albalushi, Head of Fraud Risk Management at ADIB, said: “In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the shift towards digital services leading to a rise in the prevalence and sophistication of fraud attempts. Most common scams we observe include Social Engineering frauds related to prize scams using phone calls, fake discount offers, WhatsApp account takeover fraud and fake delivery emails sent to customers. While ADIB takes all possible precautions to protect customers against such new fraud scam, it is vital that customers remain vigilant to such potential scams target them.
Albalushi further stated: “the most important precaution one can take is to not share the One Time Password (OTP) they receive with any third parties, as the OTP is the control that protects customers against fraud. ADIB provides a detailed guidance that customer can review available on our website:
www.adib.ae/Protect-Yourself.aspx.”
Officer Mohammed Al Eryani, from Abu Dhabi Police’s Criminal Investigation Department, added: “To thwart scams and phishing attacks requires a communal effort as one weak link can undo the discipline and good work of others. We therefore encourage consumers to remain circumspect around messages they receive from unfamiliar sources and to always report suspected fraudulent approaches to the police.”
In 2020, ADIB rolled out a successful joint campaign with Abu Dhabi Police to reach and educate hundreds of thousands of customers on cybersecurity and fraud attacks. This followed a surge in the number of UAE cyberattacks which increased by over 250 percent last year, with ADIB’s experience showing that customers tend to trust unknown callers to easily and disclose confidential information, such as account, card numbers, PINs and account passwords.