US Embassy in Abu Dhabi warns residents of online scam

Alert comes after cyber fraudsters posed as embassy representatives to solicit money for solar generators

The US Embassy in Abu Dhabi alerts residents to online scam where fraudsters have targeted business owners. The National

The US Embassy in Abu Dhabi has urged the public to be vigilant against online scammers posing as officials in order to con people out of money.

The fresh warning came after staff were alerted of a potential scam where individuals posing as embassy representatives tried to solicit “purchase orders for solar generators”.

In a tweet, the embassy said it appeared that the fraudsters - using a set of unofficial email addresses - were targeting businesses for payments of “false contracts”.

It reiterated that the messages were not from the US federal government.

In an alert on its website, the embassy said any requests “from a Juliana Morgan, Gary Dikens or Michelle Roland” should be immediately reported to the embassy via [e-mail].

It also said any requests for money from these individuals should not be acted on.

“If you receive an email from any company or individual claiming to represent US Embassy Abu Dhabi, be cautious,” the advisory said.

“Particularly, if you receive an email from a company or individual asking you to contact them and pay any money, be cautious.

“Any official correspondence from the US Embassy or an embassy official will be from a properly formatted US Department of State email address ending in @state.gov and will have a corresponding Embassy telephone number with a local area code.”

It said all US government procurement procedures follow “strict regulations” which were clearly breached in these emails.

The Embassy also warned people not to respond to any requests from six additional email addresses; [e-mail]; [e-mail]; [e-mail]; [e-mail]; [e-mail] and [e-mail].

In this latest scam, which has been in circulation for some time, online criminals mimicked officials in a bid to get cash from business owners. At the bottom of the email appeared the US Embassy Abu Dhabi logo.

A similar incident was reported by the US Embassy in Oman in 2017. At that time, individuals and businesses had complained of receiving similar tender requests from the same names and email addresses listed above.