TRA urges people not to fall prey to the scam, which involves a phoney Ramadan contest offering a Dh1m prize.
An urgent warning has been issued about a WhatsApp scam in the UAE which involves a fake Ramadan contest to win Dh1 million.
The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) posted a video on its Twitter account on Wednesday evening showing the fraudulent message, which claimed the prize was being offered by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
The fake link appears to be to Sheikh Mohammed’s website, giving people the chance to answer three religious questions to win the cash bonanza.
The message is a scam designed to trick people, the TRA said.
“Scam messages start popping up at the beginning of Ramadan. This site alleged that it is Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid’s official website.
“When you see the link on WhatsApp, it shows that it’s the Sheikh’s website but when you click on the link, the website changes and is not like the one showed in the message,” the TRA relayed.
By clicking on the link, people will be taken to a fake website which features pictures of Sheikh Mohammed.
“The site is fake. Be careful of short links received from unknown people. It might be a trick to scam you, be careful,” TRA added.
The TRA implored people to beware of such scams and not fall victim to them.
