Fake airline deals top credit cards scam list for UAE residents, warns top cop

Officials have called upon residents and visitors alike to beware of misleading advertisements in newspapers and Internet that lure unsuspecting readers to use their credit cards to avail bogus discounts.

Major Dr Khalid Shaikh, head of anti-forgery and counterfeiting offences of Dubai Police, has warned the public about misleading advertisements in newspapers and on the internet.

Shaikh said a British visitor bought 12 airline tickets through these ads and discovered that he was the victim of a scam.

Some misleading ads even offer discounts on fines for traffic rule violations and vehicle licence renewal fees, he said.

Major Khalid Shaikh said there are nine types of risks in using credit cards.

Five of them are called ‘self-risks’ because they result from mistakes made by the card holder.

The self-risks include losing the card, theft of card, giving the card to people and not keeping a record of amounts withdrawn by them and theft of information through secret cameras placed on ATMs.

Use of credit cards on websites is unsafe as it can also result in theft of confidential data by hackers, he added.

Card holders sometimes leave letters from banks containing secret pin codes in unsafe places like cars, he said.

Shaikh said the other four are external risks, including theft of cred card sent via parcel post or delivered to the wrong person who has documents stolen from the post officer or bank.

Some shopkeepers facilitate use of stolen credit cards in return for money. Some bank staff leak information about customers to unauthorised people, he added.

Major Khalid Shaikh offered some tips for credit card safety.

The card must be kept in a safe place and documents containing pin numbers must be destroyed immediately after reading them. The card should not be used in unsecure web sites, he added.

Card holders should observe the cashier recording data after making their purchase. They must not to respond to e-mails seeking personal information and check ATM machines to ensure that there no hidden cameras for recording credit card data. Holders must also not exchange information about cards over the phone, Major Shaikh said.

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