Abu Dhabi warns residents, tourists against fake currency dealers

Image courtesy: WAM

The Abu Dhabi Judicial Department (ADJD) has warned residents and tourists against falling prey to ‘fake’ currency exchange dealers with lucrative offers.

“The Abu Dhabi Judicial Department warns against falling behind fake offers to sell currencies at reduced prices, which are in fact forged or belong to suspicious sources,” the ADJD said in a video shared on its social media accounts.

ADJD said scammers, fraudsters, and currency counterfeiting gangs take advantage of the holiday to offer foreign currencies at reduced prices through social media. These counterfeit gangs lure people through social media platforms and advertisements.

دائرة القضاء في أبوظبي تحذر من الانسياق وراء عروض وهمية لبيع عملات بأسعار مخفضة، والتي تكون في حقيقتها مزورة أو تعود إلى مصادر مشبوهة.#النصب_والاحتيال #خلك_واعي #بيع_العملات_المزيفة pic.twitter.com/aGNdTlc65k

— دائرة القضاء-أبوظبي (@ADJD_Official) August 17, 2023

“People should avoid such ‘lucrative’ offers and refrain from exchanging money using such dubious deals,” the ADJD cautioned in a statement. The department urged the public to always use authorised money exchange houses or banks in the country to exchange foreign currency.

The authority also called on all individuals and entities to avoid dealing with these gangs as they are involved in money laundering and promoting counterfeit currency notes.

Finance and investment scams

Meanwhile, Dubai tollgate operator Salik issued a warning in June warning the public and investors of an active social media scam campaign that falsely claims to offer high returns for investing in the company.

The social media campaigns were targeted at both individuals and institutional investors, attempting to convince them to invest in Salik through a fraudulent link that has no connection to the toll operator.

UAE authorities are always warning the public against fraudulent calls, social media campaigns, scam emails and text messages that imitate trademarks and trusted websites to steal banking details and personal information such as usernames, passwords and credit card numbers.

Read: Dubai’s Salik warns investors against ‘high-return’ scams on social media