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'Yes, this is a scam': UAE experts warn residents against caller ID spoofing
Cybercriminals increasingly piece together information from multiple sources to build highly personalised attacks
- PUBLISHED: Sat 13 Jun 2026, 6:00 AM
When Abu Dhabi resident Rody Nasr received a call from what appeared to be the US Embassy in Lebanon, he had little reason to be suspicious. The caller spoke in an American accent and claimed authorities had uncovered a money-laundering case linked to his identity. Nasr quickly searched the number online. "It appeared that this is the embassy's number," he recalled.
Then came the detail that truly caught him off guard. The caller referenced a passport that was stolen from Nasr years earlier while travelling in Greece. "So that's why I got concerned," said Nasr, a 40-year-old engineer and project manager who has lived in Abu Dhabi for the past decade.
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The callers claimed that Nasr's identity had surfaced during an investigation involving suspicious transactions and suggested that his previously stolen passport may have been used by others. They provided a case number and instructed him to contact what they said was the UAE Embassy in Washington because he was a UAE resident. The conversation later shifted towards appointing a lawyer to clear his name, so that they would eventually ask him to transfer money for the lawyer
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"They asked me about the case number," Nasr said. "Then he called me by name and revealed some personal information about myself." The callers claimed a stay order had been issued and suggested appointing a lawyer to resolve the matter. But when they asked him to provide his passport details, alarm bells started ringing.
"I told them, 'You should have my passport details because you already know everything,'" said the Lebanese expat. After ending the call, he independently contacted the US Embassy in Beirut through the same number that had appeared on his phone.
"He was like, 'Yes, this is a scam. You're not the first person. They're using our embassy's number,'" Nasr said.
Evolving fraud tactics
Cybersecurity experts say the incident reflects a worrying evolution in fraud tactics, where criminals combine technology with extensive research into their targets.
Dr Claude Fachkha, cybercrime expert and associate professor at the University of Dubai, said these operations are far more sophisticated than opportunistic scam attempts.
"They are very organised," he said. "This is what does the data collection, this is what does the coding, this is what does the sales, this is what does the telephone." "It's not random at all," he added.
According to Fachkha, cybercriminals increasingly piece together information from multiple sources to build highly personalised attacks.
"They know you and they know your background and they are doing research from multiple datasets to collect information about you," he said.
He noted that criminals often exploit information gathered from previous applications, compromised databases, travel documentation and other publicly available sources.
"They will try to leverage this information to get money from the victim," he said. "They will leverage this information to build more customised attacks."
Caller ID spoofing
Fachkha warned that modern cybercrime operations increasingly resemble businesses. He described networks in which different individuals specialise in data gathering, social engineering and financial transactions.
Dr Mehak Khurana, associate professor of cybersecurity at Canadian University Dubai, stressed that the embassy numbers themselves are not necessarily being hacked.
"What I have learned about it, they are not actually hacking the actual numbers," she said. "They are using some technology ... basically they're trying to spoof the phone numbers."
Caller ID spoofing enables fraudsters to manipulate the number displayed on a recipient's screen, making it appear as though calls originate from trusted organisations such as embassies, police departments or banks.
"The first thing that happens is it feels legitimate," Khurana said.
Compromised data
The growing availability of personal data online also plays a role in making these scams more convincing.
"We are very active on social media. We are active on professional websites and we are active on Google as well," she said. "It's very easy to perform the reconnaissance for any attacker."
Khurana said fraudsters often gather information from multiple sources, including compromised websites and previously leaked datasets circulating on dark web marketplaces.
"What attackers do is they try to find out the websites where data has already been compromised, and they take advantage of that information," she said.
The information may include email addresses, phone numbers and other personal details that can later be woven into convincing scam narratives.
Experts say psychological manipulation remains at the heart of these attacks. "They show authority," Fachkha said. "People become afraid."
Khurana echoed that assessment, warning that fear and urgency often drive victims into making impulsive decisions. "They create panic," she said. "People feel that if they don't comply, they might lose their residency, lose their jobs or face legal consequences."
She added that scammers are increasingly moving beyond straightforward requests for one-time passwords.
"They have found different ways," she said. "Now they don't say, 'Share your OTP.' They ask for personal information, or they ask you to download applications."
In some cases, fraudsters persuade victims to install remote-access applications, giving them indirect access to devices and sensitive information.
'Call and ask'
While technology companies and telecom providers continue to develop tools aimed at detecting suspicious activity, experts say public awareness remains the strongest line of defence.
"People don't believe anything on the phone," Fachkha said, urging residents to independently verify claims through official channels. "First, you have to calm down. Take it easy and do manual investigation," he said. "Call and ask."
Rather than relying on numbers or links provided during a call, residents should independently contact the organisation through official channels, experts advised.
Khurana said residents should never share personal information, banking details or one-time passwords over the phone, even if the call appears to originate from an official source.
"Government organisations will never ask you for such information," she said.
Fachkha warned that determined cybercriminals continue to evolve their methods. "Hackers, if they really want to reach you, they can do anything to reach you," he said.
"If someone wants to reach your accounts and data, eventually it's a matter of time and they have a big chance to succeed."
Looking back, Nasr believes his decision to question the inconsistencies in the callers' story prevented him from becoming another victim.
"At the beginning, it appeared very legitimate," he said. "But this type of social engineering was very new to me."
As fraudsters continue refining their methods, experts warn that the traditional advice to simply ignore unknown numbers may no longer be enough. The number on the screen may be genuine, the voice may sound official, the details may even be true; that, experts say, is exactly what makes these scams so dangerous.
