Prevent and Fight with Fraud

At the Al Ahalia Money Exchange Bureau, we are committed to utilizeall our resources to combat fraud and prevent criminals from victimizing our customers. We invest in the latest technology and train our staff to catch fraudulent activities. Our counter staff regularly update our customers to protect themselves from different types of scams.

Learn how fraudsters operate:

Fraudsters send fake messages to their victims claiming that they won large cash prizes through:

• Phone calls
• SMS
• WhatsApp
• Email
• Social media

They ask for their victims’ data and bank account information, claiming that they need these details to receive their prize money. They use these details to gain access to the victims’ accounts and steal their money. These scammers will tell their victims not to share the details of their prizes with anyone for the purpose of maintaining confidentiality and privacy.

Other scammers will also instruct their targets to send money to a certain address or bank accounts before they can claim their cash prize.

Protect yourself:

At the Al Ahalia Money Exchange Bureau, we will never ask the winners of our promotions to disclose any personal data, identification numbers or their bank account details over the phone, nor will we ask them to pay fees so they can receive their prizes.

We will contact the winners from our official phone numbers to inform them of their prizes.  You may also verify by visiting the nearest Al Ahalia Money Exchange Bureau branch or calling our customer service at 600 546 645.

Check our website, www.ahaliaexchange.commor our official social media channels to find out if there is such a prize as well.

• Remain vigilant and do not share personal details with anyone.
• Confirm the credentials of the person contacting you.
• Never send money to unverified sources.
• Don’t click on suspicious links
• Report suspicious activities to the relevant authorities immediately.

Types of Fraud:

• Email:

• Fake email from bank claiming that the account is frozen for security reasons and that the customer should call a number found in the email.
• The person picking up the phone will grab the customer’s details giving the fraudsters access to the customer’s bank account/details.

• Lottery:

• Fake message from Al Ahalia Money Exchange Bureauclaiming that a person has won a certain promotion.
• Fraudsters will require some information which they will use to access accounts.
• These messages are being aggressively shared, and AlAhalia Money Exchange Bureauhas been warning the general public and our valuable customers against them for years.

• SIM Swap:

• Fraudsters will gather information on a certain person, either from social media or other sources.
• They will contact service providers to gain access to a new SIM card.
• They will make payments using the victim’s card and use the new SIM to gain access to the One Time Password (OTP) sent through SMS to authenticate the transaction.
• They can also use the OTP to access social media or bank accounts.

• Magic Ink:

• The fraudster poses as a bank representative and comes to the victim with pre-filled documents for a credit card for example.
• The victim fills out their account details and signs a cheque with the amount of the proposed credit card.
• The fraudster uses heat to remove the ink of the cheque without removing the signature and therefore they have all the account details and a blank cheque issued from the victim’s bank and signed.

• Fund Transfer:

• Businesses deal with suppliers and clients from all over the world, primarily via email.
• Fraudsters will send links via copycat emails.
• When the victim clicks on the link it gives the fraudster access to their computer or smartphone.
• The fraudster can now gain access to supplier information and ask for payments or change bank details to their own.

• Phone Fraud:

• Fraudsters will pose as bank or exchange employees.
• They will claim that your account is frozen.
• They will ask for personal information.
• They will connect you to an automated system that will ask for your card details and security code.

• Data privacy:

• Emirates ID number, date of birth, bank account details and much more can be breached by fraudsters.
• Fraudsters will use this information to hack into your bank accounts, social media accounts etc.

 

Report fraud:

We urge you to report fraudulent activities, not only to protect yourselves, but to protect others as well.