dubizzle reveals users' thoughts on phishing scams following survey on its platform in a bid to increase awareness around online safety
64 percent of respondents were familiar with the term, but 16.8 percent of these were unaware of its meaning
The main reason leading to a suspected scam on dubizzle was that the offer found was too good to be true at 54.4 percent responses within the survey
dubizzle Motors launches One-Time Verification code verification feature to curb phishing and other online scams
Dubai, UAE – dubizzle – the UAE’s leading classifieds platform – has revealed that 36 percent users have never heard of the term ‘phishing scam’, following a survey conducted by the platform regarding the common cybercrime. The remaining respondents (64 percent) highlighted they were familiar with the term, however a quarter of them (16.8 percent) were unaware of its meaning.
There have been over 11,500 record breaches in the UAE over the past three years per a recent report by Gemalto, the world leader in digital security. This insight spurred dubizzle to conduct a short survey on its platform to raise awareness regarding phishing scams. The survey highlighted that 45.9 percent of those who have heard of phishing scams have been victims of one in the past.
“From our poll, we have learnt that some dubizzle users have suspected a scam on our platform and 30.8 percent of these did not take any action to report the scam. With 30.8 percent suspecting scams on dubizzle Jobs and 27.6 percent on dubizzle Motors, it is paramount that we empower our users with information that allows them to avoid becoming a victim, and encourage them to alert us when they feel they may be at risk,” commented Salma Anabtawi, Customer Support Manager.
A phishing scam is a form of fraud in which the attacker attempts to obtain sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, and other personal or financial details and, indirectly, money, often for malicious reasons, by disguising as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication.
The main reasons leading to a suspected scam on dubizzle were that the offer found was too good to be true at 54.4 percent, with the seller’s information seeming suspicious claiming 27.8 percent of the responses.
“It’s easy to become a victim of a phishing scam as most scammers pose as genuine employees, buyers or sellers. Making contact information available helps connect with those listing a job or an ad faster, however this has its downside as it makes users more vulnerable to fraudulent activities. We always advise that dubizzle users are cautious when utilizing the platform and look out for any suspicious behavior such as frequent changes in contact details or requests for financial information,” added Ms. Anabtawi.
In an effort to curb phishing and other online scams, dubizzle Motors has recently launched a new feature, One-Time Verification code, which prompts users to provide their phone number before editing a listing, changing a password or deactivating an account. The One-Time Verification code is then sent to the user’s mobile via SMS, ensuring user verification before these important actions are conducted. In the first two weeks since the introduction of One-Time Verification code, dubizzle has witnessed a 91 percent drop in scams from phished accounts and a 52 percent decrease in phishing reports and attempts.
dubizzle receives over 1 million listings daily, only from the UAE, which are filtered by an automated process. From there, the customer support team monitors all listings with the aim to protect users; if any illegal activity is detected or reported, these listings are deleted and the users are warned. To date, we have blocked hundreds fraudulent ads on the platform. dubizzle works collaboratively with the community to ensure that any ads on the platform that do not adhere to our policies and UAE law are reported and taken down immediately.
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About dubizzle:
dubizzle.com is the leading free classifieds platform for users in the United Arab Emirates. Since its launch in 2005, dubizzle.com has become the number one platform for users to buy, sell, or find anything in their community. A community where underused goods are redistributed to fill a new need, and become wanted again, where non- product assets such as space, skills and money are exchanged and traded in new ways that don’t always require centralized institutions or ‘middlemen’. dubizzle.com is headquartered in the UAE.
dubizzle is an OLX company:
OLX is the world’s leading classifieds platform in growth markets and is available in more than 45 countries and over 50 languages. OLX connects local people to buy, sell or exchange used goods and services by making it fast, easy and free for anyone to post a listing through their mobile phone or on the web. Every month, hundreds of millions of people in local markets around the world are already using OLX’s online marketplace to find and sell a wide range of products, including furniture, musical instruments, sporting goods, cars, kids and baby items, motorcycles, cameras, mobile phones, property and much more. OLX operates in fast-growing markets around the globe, where OLX helps people improve their lives through smart person-to-person trade. OLX Arabia is actively expanding in the MENA region in Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. OLX employs more than 1,200 committed employees worldwide located in places like Bangkok, Buenos Aires, Cape Town, Delhi, Jakarta, Lagos, Lisbon, Manila, Nairobi, Poznan, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.
© Press Release 2017
