Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - If you live in the UAE, have you ever received a WhatsApp message saying you have won a certain prize or promised an offer of your dream job?

Frequently the answer is yes. In recent weeks these kind of messages have been on the rise and could be virtual theft traps.

This situation has alerted the police department in the emirate of Ajman to launch an awareness campaign to warn residents against such fraudulent messages and ads, which can land those who are behind it in jail from one to three years and a penalty between Dhs 25,000 and Dhs one million.

The police said that scammers frequently they will pose as employees in a company by sending Whatsapp messages with prizes given away by major communication companies or supermarket chains, asking for personal information, passwords and credit card details.

According to Ajman police, in many cases reported to them, it was found that the scammers persuade the victims to send them money in order to process the reward or offer them jobs, or visa and many fall prey to such false claims, according to a report by Khaleej Times newspaper.

*Al Arabiya