8.53 AM Tuesday, 19 March 2024
  • City Fajr Shuruq Duhr Asr Magrib Isha
  • Dubai 05:07 06:20 12:29 15:54 18:33 19:47
19 March 2024

Email scams get personal using real UAE bank managers names

Published
By Majorie van Leijen

When somebody receives an email explaining that a certain amount of money is frozen on a bank account and only you can help to make available this money, for which you will get a rewarding share, then most now that this email should be disregarded and added to the list of spam.

However, when the same message is signed off by ‘the branch manager of Hor Al Anz, Abu Dhabi National Bank’, some people might feel tempted to respond.

In fact, when this website checked if there is anybody working for Abu Dhabi National Bank (ABNB) with that name, the shocking fact is that Tamer Al Qadri is indeed the manager of ABNB’s Hor Al Anz branch.

“This letter was not sent by me. This is not me,” says Tamer.

“He is aware of the scam and says that many of his customers have reported receiving the email.

According to the letter Tamer Al Qadri is making the request in strict confidentiality, as it could jeopardise his position at the bank.

In the email he writes about a customer named Richard Brokav who died in a plane crash in 1999.

Richard had made a deposit of $16,500,000, and due to the fact that there is no next of kin family member who has come forward to claim the money, somebody needs to stand in as a next of kin.

The email goes on to state that for the bank not to consider the deposit as unclaimed and confiscate it to the emirates treasury account, “the above stated funds must be claimed immediately by somebody standing in as late Mr. Richard Brokav Next of Kin because according to (UNITED ARAB EMIRATES LAW), at the expiration of 15 (Fifteen) years, the money will be reverted to the ownership of the (UNITED ARAB EMIRATES GOVERNMENT) if nobody applies to claim the fund.”

The real Tamer tells Emirates 24|7:  “This person is sick. The letter has even appeared in different languages. I seem to be writing in Hindi, Urdu and even Hebrew.

“He mentions that I am married with four children. All of this is completely untrue.”

At the same time Tamer suspects that the person might be somebody he knows, as his position and recent activities in the bank are correctly mentioned.

Although it is not the first time a letter like this one appears it seems to indicate a trend towards more personalised and localised messages, in which an appeal is made on contacts which people are able to double-check.

Another letter circulating in the UAE comes from the alleged private consultant to Muammar Ghadaffi, who says he live in Qatar and the UAE. He claims that funds of the deceased leader are in custody of a UAE vault agency.

“Until this day, the funds is still in custody of the vault agency in UAE and why I am contacting you is to lay claim on this money since there is no specified name on the deposit. I have the secret code to the deposit.

“All this are on the directive of Muammar Ghadaffi. I would like to notify you that none of his living family knows about the money and even if, there is no prove with them and I am not ready or willing to relate it to them as I am closely monitored by secret service in UK and United States.

“I never knew how they got to know about my relationship with the leader, Muammar Ghadaffi,” writes the person.

“It is getting serious now,” says Tamir. “When I Google my name, I see pages of scam reports.”

Tamer is to report the case to the police.

(Home page image courtesy Shutterstock)