Anti-fraud campaign to send 10m texts

ABU DHABI // Almost 10 million text messages will be sent out in a national campaign to prevent mobile phone fraud, the Ministry of Interior announced yesterday. The ministry said it would launch an "intensive" awareness campaign against electronic and mobile phone fraud on Sunday. Lt Majid Abdulkarim al Marzouki, the campaign co-ordinator, said all mobile phone users would receive a text message warning them and others of the dangers of fraud.

A total of 9,682,537 text messages will be sent out, in both English and Arabic. As part of the campaign, police will reveal the number and details of fraud cases nationwide. The ministry described electronic fraud as a phenomenon that had become an obsession and a heavy burden on "people's savings". Mohammed al Ghanim, the general director of the Telecommunication Regulatory Authority, advised people to verify the identity of the sender of any text or email request for money before making a transfer.

hhassan@thenational.ae