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🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates /Crime & Justice

UAE job seekers: How to spot fake offers and avoid financial or legal risks

From Khaleej Times · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Explainer Named sources Context piece
  • UAE job seekers are being warned to check employers carefully as fake recruiters use convincing websites, documents and social media profiles.
  • Legal liability generally depends on what candidates knew and how they acted, particularly if they handled suspicious funds or ignored warning signs.
  • Experts advise candidates not to use personal bank accounts for company money, and to contact their bank and authorities if suspicious funds arrive.

A polished website, professional documents and a convincing social media profile do not prove that a job offer is genuine. In the UAE, job seekers are being urged to carry out basic checks before accepting positions from unfamiliar recruiters.

Accepting a job with a company that later turns out to be fake or criminal does not automatically make a candidate criminally liable. Igor Abalov, managing partner at Lawford Legal Advisors FZ-LLC in Dubai, said the key questions concern the job seeker's conduct and state of mind: what they knew, which warning signs they noticed and what they did after suspicions arose.

Accepting a position with a company that later turns out to be fake or criminal does not, by itself, mean automatic criminal liability.

· Igor AbalovThe Dubai legal adviser explains that accepting a fraudulent job alone does not automatically create criminal liability.

The legal risk becomes more serious if a candidate knowingly helps commit a crime or deliberately handles criminal proceeds. Under the UAE's anti-money laundering legislation, handling, transferring, converting or using funds known to come from crime can create criminal exposure. Knowledge may also be inferred from the surrounding circumstances.

What matters for the job seeker is their own conduct and state of mind: what they knew, which warning signs they saw, and what they did once suspicions arose.

· Igor AbalovHe outlines the factors that may determine a job seeker's legal exposure.

Warning signs include disproportionate payments for simple transfers, requests to use a personal bank account for company funds, split payments, instructions to send money to strangers, demands to convert funds into cryptocurrency, or requests to delete messages. “An honest mistake” is different from knowingly assisting an offence, Abalov said, but claiming not to know may not be enough when several obvious warning signs were present.

His advice is to stop participating, preserve evidence and report the matter to the bank and authorities once an offer is discovered to be fraudulent. Candidates should refuse requests to move company money through personal accounts. If funds have already arrived, they should not withdraw, forward or return them using bank details supplied by the suspected fraudster. They should instead notify the bank's fraud or compliance team and follow its instructions.

An honest mistake

· Igor AbalovHe distinguishes an accidental mistake from knowingly assisting a criminal offence.
About this summary

Originally published by Khaleej Times in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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