Cyber fraud in the Gulf — start here
One page for the whole region: how electronic fraud reaches you, which guide to read for your case, and the official route to report it in your country.
What “cyber fraud” covers
Electronic fraud is any deception that reaches you through a phone, a message or a screen — a fake bank alert, a delivery fee, a job offer, a trading advert, a prize. Most cases in the Gulf start with a message you did not ask for and end with a payment, or with a code you were persuaded to give. Electronic fraud, account hacking and impersonation all start the same way: a message or a call that pushes you to act quickly.
What to ask yourself before you act
Who contacted me — did I start this? What do they want — money, a code, or my data? How do they want it — a link, a call, a transfer, or an app I must install? If the answers are “they contacted me”, “a code or a payment”, and “through a link”, stop there.
“احتيال إلكتروني” — the general search, after a suspicious message.
“احتيال إلكتروني الإمارات” — looking for the UAE reporting route.
“احتيال إلكتروني السعودية” — checking who to report to in the Kingdom.
“احتيال مالي إلكتروني” — after money has already left the account.
“احتيال الكتروني” (without the hamza) — the same search, typed the common way.
How to check before you act
Use the official app or the official website — opened by you, not by a link — to confirm anything you are told about your money, your account or a delivery. Call the number printed on your card or published on the organisation's own site. And if you have already shared a code or paid, contact your bank first: the first hour decides what can be recovered.
Report it, even for a small amount
Reporting is what gets a number or a domain blocked, and what makes the scale of fraud visible. Give the official channel the sender's number or handle, screenshots of the full message, and the transaction reference if you paid.
For every country in the Gulf
The reporting channel is national, not regional — each country listed below has its own platform, address or emergency number. Use your own country's route.
The guides people need most
WhatsApp account theft
How an account is taken with a single code, and the family-emergency requests that follow.
Help and support
Hacked account, ransomware or money stolen — what to do step by step.
Report it officially
🇦🇪 UAE
Dubai Police eCrime (ecrime.ae, 901) · Abu Dhabi Aman 8002626 · Ministry of Interior e-Crime · emergencies 999.
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia
Ministry of Interior e-Crime platform · report financial fraud to your bank and SAMA · emergencies 911.
🇰🇼 Kuwait
CITRA Cyber Security
[email protected] · Ministry of Interior cybercrime unit · emergency 112.
🇧🇭 Bahrain
National Cyber Security Center
[email protected] · Ministry of Interior economic & electronic security · emergencies 999.
