Sharjah 24: Eastern Region Police Department (ERPD) of the Sharjah Police General Command launched an awareness campaign, with the aim of combating fraud crimes by phone, in cooperation with the Central Bank and various banks in the country, raising awareness among community members about telephone fraud methods.

The campaign comes within the framework of the Sharjah Police’s strategy, consistent with the strategic objectives of the Ministry of Interior aimed at enhancing security and safety.

Colonel Dr. Ali Al Kai Al Hamoudi, Director of the Eastern Region Police Department, stated that Sharjah Police continues to intensify its activities to contain fraud crimes by phone, in addition to spreading awareness on a large scale to include all segments of society, and urges everyone to take all precautions to ensure their protection from frauds.

Colonel Dr. Al Hamoudi pointed out that phone fraud is one of the most dangerous threats facing bank customers. It is an attack that targets personal information such as user names, passwords, credit card information and other sensitive data, in order to steal the victims’ money.

Colonel Dr. Al Hamoudi maintained that fraud methods have changed and evolved with the continuous qualitative change of digital technology, which makes it imperative to start launching awareness campaigns on a large scale to educate the public about the dangers of this type of crime, aimed at warning society about the dangers of fraud crimes by phone.

Colonel Dr. Al Hamoudi stressed the importance of not dealing or communicating with strange unreliable numbers, underlining the confidentiality of personal financial information, and informing the security services as soon as receiving a suspicious phone call, with the need to be careful in dealing with incoming calls and anonymous phone messages.

Colonel Dr. Al Hamoudi noted that awareness will be intensified on the largest scale during the campaign, and this will be accompanied by the publication of electronic awareness leaflets in Arabic and English, through which we convey the instructions that bank customers must follow to avoid falling into the traps of fraudsters.

Colonel Dr. Al Hamoudi stated that awareness of this aspect had previously been intensified through the social media platforms of the Sharjah Police in cooperation with media partners and the establishment of various and comprehensive awareness lectures for members of the community through visual communication technology.

The Director of the Eastern Region Police Department called on the public to learn from the incidents that some have been subjected to, pointing to multiple models and different criminal methods that the gangs specialised in stealing clients resort to by calling them or sending text messages to them.

The Director of the Eastern Region Police Department highlighted the keenness of the Sharjah Police General Command for safety and protection of all members of society, asking citizens and residents to cooperate with the security services by immediately contacting the police at the emergency number 999 if they feel in danger, or when exposed to fraud over the phone.