If someone from du calls you with a deal that sounds too good to be true, it probably is…

UAE telecoms operator du have warned its customers of a new scam circulating around the Emirates: people are contacting residents and offering them discounts on their phone bills.

They are telling people they will pay their bills for them, and get them a discounted rate, if people then pass the money on (at the discounted rate).

This is, of course, not a real deal – and du has said the scammers are using stolen credit cards to pay the bills.

“Be aware of people who claim to work at du and offer to pay your du bills at a discount. Please decline such offers as they use stolen credit cards,” du has told its customers according to Gulf News. 

*ALSO READ: There’s now a fourth mobile provider in the UAE, but it comes with a catch*

If you think you’ve received a fraudulent call or message, call du on 155 or send an email with details to fc@du.ae. 

Remember, if you get a phone call from your telecom company or bank from a number that’s not official, always be wary.

A company like du or Etisalat will never ask for your bank details over the phone, so that’s another major red flag.

Basically, as we said, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Remember, there’s also a scam that will involve people telling you you’ve won a prize…

This normally comes in the form of a phone call from a local mobile number, with the person on the other end advising that you have won a large sum money (usually in excess of Dhs100,000) in an Etisalat or Du raffle draw. The caller will speak either English, Arabic or Urdu and will say that in order to claim the prize you need to purchase a substantial quantity of Etisalat or Du pre paid credit and call them back with the pin numbers.

The scammers have also been known to offer the first five numbers of your SIM card as proof that the call is legit, but this is untrue as all Etisalat SIM cards begin with the same sequence of numbers. They then resell the credit at for a profit as the phone companies give discounts on bulk phone card purchases. Under no circumstances would an Etisalat employee ask you to transfer any money to them in order to claim a prize.

Also, here’s a rental scam to be on the lookout for, and four other common Dubai scams. 

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Image: Getty