The Indian passport. ARCHIVE

The Indian Consulate in Dubai has warned expats about scam calls pretending to be from the Pravasi Bharatiya Sahayata Kendra, targeting them with immigration-related issues. In a social media post on X, shared in several Indian languages on Friday (September 27), the mission advised expats in Dubai and the northern emirates to stay alert for these scam calls displaying the Pravasi Bharatiya Sahayata Kendra's phone number, 80046342. According to the consulate, the caller attempts to extort money by pretending to resolve a fake immigration issue. "The consulate does not call Indian nationals on any immigration-related issues. Please do not engage with such callers and do not transfer any money," the mission said in the post. "The consulate does not ask for private information, OTP, PIN numbers, or bank details," they added. How do you avoid becoming a victim of these fraudulent texts and emails? Several institutions in UAE, whether public or private, are now warning residents and citizens about the rising threat of fraudulent calls. A major red flag for these scam calls is when they ask for sensitive and personal information such as your account number, Emirates ID number, email ID, and a one-time password from a bank. When this happens, do not engage. For extra safety, send a report to trusted authorities such as Dubai Police through dubaipolice.gov.ae (look for eCrime under Reports services) and Abu Dhabi Police through adpolice.gov.ae (look for Aman under Police services). FLE/Expat Media
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