Winning a lucky draw, that too a first prize is what most of us dream of. And receiving such a call is a joyous one.
But not to this woman.
Residents of the UAE are no strangers to the joy of winning millions in raffle draws. That’s why when Qashish Dhiraj Mehta received a call saying she had won Dh500,000, she was ecstatic. But her joy was short-lived.
The Dubai resident couldn’t believe what she was hearing on the phone.
“Honestly, I was so excited! All over the papers all the time, there are lucky draws and people actually win, so it could happen to me too. I could be lucky as well. I was actually out shopping and in the middle of that, I got a call stating that I won Dh500,000,” the content writer told a local agency.
The man on the other side of the line claimed to be from Emirates NBD. Addressing Mehta as “sister”, the man who identified himself as Ali asked to verify her details, including her debit card number, to which she obliged.
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The man proceeded to ask for the expiry date of the card and the three-digit card verification code at the back of the card. He even asked her to change her PIN number to the number he would give her.
Mehta refused as she could sense something was amiss. She told Ali that she would call him back later. That’s when his tone changed from sounding professional and confident to irritable and agitated.
Married to a banker, Mehta narrated the incident to her husband who then warned her of fraudsters who pretend to be bankers to steal their bank details.
They reported the matter to the bank and tried to call Ali again but to no avail.
In a statement sent to the agency, Suvo Sarkar, senior executive vice-president and group head, Retail Banking and Wealth Management at Emirates NBD, urged clients to be cautious.
“We advise our customers to remain vigilant and to never share their PIN with anyone, including friends, family members, merchants or Emirates NBD call center representatives. We would like to remind our customers that they will never be asked to provide their PIN by an Emirates NBD agent,” Sarkar said.
When agency contacted the fraudster, he just blurted out the same spiels as if on cue. The man spoke in Arabic but was clearly not a native speaker.
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Dubai Police have repeatedly warned residents not to take the bait of fraudsters who promise winnings on either phone or by text or email.
Genuine raffle draw winners are announced through public channels and in the media by organizers and nothing will be required of them during the call.
Fortunately for Mehta, nothing went wrong. But anything could still happen to unsuspecting people that’s why she came forward with her story.
“I was very scared. He had my number, my complete name and he knew where I was banking.
“My advice to residents is to stay calm and to not fall for things like this. Don’t take a hasty decision. Hear the person out because you could really be lucky. The bottom line is this is your information. No matter what prize you win, you’re not supposed to share this information with anyone — especially over the phone.”
So people watch out for such fraudsters.
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