There’s A New Social Media Scam That Dubai Residents Need To Be Aware Of

Residents are aware that insulting someone on social media in the UAE can lead to hefty fines, but now authorities are warning that scammers are out to actually provoke you into such insults.

Scammers are provoking residents to use insults on social media platforms like Twitter and WhatsApp.

Then, they screenshot the insults and attempt to blackmail, with the threat of reporting the insult to authorities and lodging a cybercrime case, according to Gulf News.

Cyber-crime in the UAE is a serious case, and could lead to imprisonment or fines between AED250,000 and AED500,000.

Scammers are using cyber-crime laws in the UAE to profit

In most cases, the victims are people unaware of cybercrime laws, or youngsters.

Dr. Khalid Ali Al Junaibi, Senior Prosecutor at Dubai Public Prosecution confirmed the form of blackmail and added  “if you called someone thief or scammer in a post, he or she could take a screenshot of the chat and post it to use as evidence to launch a case.” according to the report.

Scary thought!

Authorities are aware of the situation and warning residents to be vigilant; don’t be provoked into insulting someone online, and reminding parents to warn children about the risks of social media.