Dubai Police alert: Residents warned against sharing OTP, falling victim to scammers

Organisations and trusted entities will never ask for an OTP, the authorities clarified

Dubai Police issued an alert on Twitter alerting the public against online scams. The video posted on Twitter shows a phone receiving a text message saying, “Dear customer your Bank account will be suspended today please reply on this message with the OTP sent on this number.”

The alert went on to explain that no government organisation or trusted entity asks for an individual’s OTP. “Never share your OTP,” the video explained.

Earlier this week, Arabian Business reported about Salik scams where false messages are being circulated from an unknown number asking them to pay their ‘vehicle trip fee’.

In a Twitter post, the toll gate operator reminded residents “not to share personal or banking information with unreliable parties in order to avoid fraudulent activity.”

WhatsApp scams have also recently been on a rise where users are receiving calls from an international phone number to lure users with lucrative job offers.

Most of these calls come from phone numbers that start with +251 (Ethiopia), +60 (Malaysia), +62 (Indonesia), +254(Kenya), and +84 (Vietnam).

Residents are warned to stay alert and avoid sharing personal information such as the One Time Password (OTP).