Dubai Police Warn Against New Online Scam Via Fake Consumer Protection Websites

Dubai Police have warned against a new way of online scamming via fake consumer protection websites on search engines and social media platforms.

The Anti-Fraud Department at the General Department of Criminal Investigation said that fraudesters who create these websites impersonate official“Consumer Protection” platforms and use them to access victims' mobile data through malicious“remote access” applications, enabling unauthorised financial transactions.

The force called on the public to use official consumer protection channels and avoid downloading suspicious applications.

Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels.

It further urged immediate reporting of such attempts through the eCrime platform or by calling 901, to safeguard personal data and finances.

New scam explained

Sharing the details of how this new fradulent scheme works, Dubai Police said that when a victim searches for a consumer protection platform to file a complaint, they can come across one of these fake websites.

Thinking that it is a genuine platform to file their complaints, victims enter their personal details –such as name, email, phone number, and complaint description– on one of these fraudulent websites.

Scammers then contact the victim directly, posing as an official employee, and repeat the details of the complaint to appear credible and gain the complainer's trust.

Once trust is established, the fraudsters instruct the victim to download remote control software, which allows them to view the victim's phone screen in real time, steal sensitive banking information, and carry out illegal transfers or purchases.

These malicious applications are specifically designed to mirror the content of the victim's device, granting full control to the fraudster, exposing confidential data and enabling its unlawful use.

Creative ways of scamming

Last month, an official at Dubai Corporation for Consumer Protection and Fair Trade said that scammers are becoming more creative in the ways they use to take advantage of their victims.

“So we need to remind our consumers to know their rights, to make sure they read carefully, especially when buying online, to know whom they're buying from and whom they're interacting with," Ahmad Ahli, Acting Director of the Consumer Protection Department, Dubai Corporation for Consumer Protection and Fair Trade added.

"We ask them to check if the business is reputable, to always use the accredited and approved payment links and that the consumers will never be requested for OTPs. We always make sure that our customers are protected.”

Several innovative regulations have been put in place in the Dubai to safeguard consumers' rights and to make a healthy environment to ensure healthy competitiveness, fair practices and justice across the industry, according to Ahmad.

MENAFN26092025000049011007ID1110114545