UAE Issues Important Warning on Social Media Scams

The Abu Dhabi Public Prosecution has cautioned social media users against financial fraud, wherein misleading advertisements offer quick profits and high returns.

Taking to Twitter, Abu Dhabi Public Prosecution alerted people to be wary of such ads promising unreal profits.

“نيابة أبوظبي” تحذر من الاحتيال الإلكتروني للاستيلاء على الأموال عبر الترويج لأرباح خيالية على أثر انتشار إعلان في وسائل التواصل الاجتماعي pic.twitter.com/2lW3RpHUAp

— نيابة أبوظبي (@AbuDhabipp) April 28, 2023

Social media users have been urged to stay alert and avoid interacting with unauthorized parties. Recently, Dubai's Digital Risk Protection uncovered over 2,400 fake job ads on social media platforms that impersonated companies from 13 Middle East and Africa (MEA) countries.

These scams lured people seeking jobs and then redirected them to phishing pages where they were asked to enter login credentials and passwords. Authorities used several techniques such as AI-powered logo analysis and text recognition features to identify the scam.

Penalties for Cryptocurrency and Investment Scams

Last month, United Arab Emirates (UAE) Public Prosecution announced punishments for collecting money without a license, including investment fraud, cryptocurrency scams, and other such cases.

#law #legal_culture #PublicProsecution #SafeSociety #UAE #ppuae pic.twitter.com/jVk4stvhJB

— النيابة العامة (@UAE_PP) April 5, 2023

It outlined the Article No. 41 of the Federal Decree-Law No. 34 of 2021 on Combatting Rumors and Cybercrimes.

As per the law, those involved in the promotion of fake competition, cryptocurrency, or fake companies to deceive others into making investments may be fined between AED 250,000 – 1 million, up to five years imprisonment, or both. The scammer must also return the collected funds.