{"id":70367,"date":"2026-01-21T12:52:47","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T12:52:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sochtimes.com\/2026\/01\/21\/abu-dhabi-darb-toll-scam-alert-fraudsters-sending-fake-pending-fees-messages-what-uae-residents-must-know\/"},"modified":"2026-01-21T12:52:47","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T12:52:47","slug":"abu-dhabi-darb-toll-scam-alert-fraudsters-sending-fake-pending-fees-messages-what-uae-residents-must-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sochtimes.com\/hi\/2026\/01\/21\/abu-dhabi-darb-toll-scam-alert-fraudsters-sending-fake-pending-fees-messages-what-uae-residents-must-know\/","title":{"rendered":"Abu Dhabi Dar\u200bb toll scam alert: Fraudsters sending fake pending fees messages, what UAE residents must know"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"MwN2O\">\n<div class=\"vdo_embedd\">\n<div class=\"T22zO\">\n<section class=\"D3Wk1  clearfix id-r-component leadmedia undefined undefined  VtlfQ\" style=\"top:0px\">\n<div class=\"D3Wk1\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">\n<div class=\"zPaFh\">\n<div class=\"wJnIp\"><img src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-126985859,imgsize-707364,width-400,resizemode-4\/uae-darb-toll-scam-alert-drivers-warned-of-fake-sms-messages.jpg\" alt=\"Abu Dhabi Dar\u200bb toll scam alert: Fraudsters sending fake pending fees messages, what UAE residents must know\" title=\"UAE Darb Toll Scam Alert: Drivers Warned of Fake SMS Messages\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"cj2hz img_cptn\"><span title=\"UAE Darb Toll Scam Alert: Drivers Warned of Fake SMS Messages\">UAE Darb Toll Scam Alert: Drivers Warned of Fake SMS Messages<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Motorists across the UAE, especially in Abu Dhabi, have been warned about fraudulent messages lurking in text inboxes that claim to be official Darb toll alerts. These scam notifications say that drivers have pending Darb toll fees and urge them to click on a link or reply \u201cY\u201d to settle fines quickly.<!-- --> However, authorities say that these are fake messages designed to trick people into clicking malicious links and potentially giving up personal or payment information.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"3\"\/>Prompted by a spike in user reports and online complaints, transport officials and cybersecurity experts are now sounding the alarm for drivers to remain vigilant and only use authorised government channels to check toll violations or make payments.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"7\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>What are UAE drivers seeing? Fake \u201cDARB alerts\u201d<br \/><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"9\"\/>In recent days, several UAE residents reported receiving SMS messages titled \u201cDARB-Alert\u201d claiming there are pending toll fees, often just a few dirhams and warning that a fine (typically Dh100) and points could be imposed if the fee isn\u2019t paid \u201ctoday.\u201d<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"11\"\/>The messages often include:<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"13\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"cdatainfo   id-r-component\" data-pos=\"14\">\n<ul>\n<li>A supposed payment link with a web URL that looks official at first glance<\/li>\n<li>A prompt to \u201cReply Y\u201d to open a payment portal<\/li>\n<li>A claimed overdue toll amount<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"15\"\/>However, when investigators looked at these messages, they found red flags:<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"17\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"cdatainfo   id-r-component\" data-pos=\"18\">\n<ul>\n<li>The sender phone number was not from a UAE mobile network<\/li>\n<li>The links did not use official government or Q Mobility domains<\/li>\n<li>Recipients often reported they had no actual pending tolls<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"19\"\/>Similar patterns are being discussed across social media threads, with users warning each other not to click the links. One Dubai Reddit user noted the suspicious URL included spelling errors and a non-government \u201c.com\u201d address, something official toll notifications would never use.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"23\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>Official advice: Trust only Q Mobility\u2019s approved channels<br \/><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"25\"\/>Q Mobility, the operator of Abu Dhabi\u2019s Darb toll system and part of the Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company (ADQ) has repeatedly warned users to verify any message claiming to be from them. According to a recent social media post from the company, the only trusted channels for toll alerts and payments are:<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"27\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"cdatainfo   id-r-component\" data-pos=\"28\">\n<ul>\n<li>The official <keyword id=\"26073177\" type=\"General\" weightage=\"20\" keywordseo=\"Darb-app\" source=\"Orion\">DARB App<\/keyword><\/li>\n<li>The Darb website: darb.qmobility.ae<\/li>\n<li>Approved government platforms such as TAMM<\/li>\n<li>Any message that arrives from a random phone number, especially from an international code, should be treated as suspicious.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"29\"\/>Q Mobility stressed that official notifications clearly identify themselves and never request responses like \u201cReply Y.\u201d <!-- -->They also do not include unofficial URLs.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"33\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>Why this UAE toll scam is on the rise<br \/><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"35\"\/>Cyber scams of this kind are part of a broader trend of phishing and fake <a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/topic\/alert\" styleobj=\"[object Object]\" class=\"\" commonstate=\"[object Object]\" frmappuse=\"1\">alert<\/a> campaigns targeting UAE residents in recent years. Authorities including Abu Dhabi Police have actively run awareness campaigns like the \u201cBe Cautious\u201d initiative to educate the public about online fraud tactics, from deceptive links to phishing phone calls.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"39\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"cdatainfo   id-r-component\" data-pos=\"40\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"ar\" dir=\"rtl\">\u0643\u0646 \u062d\u0630\u0631\u0627\u064b \u0645\u0646 \u0631\u0633\u0627\u0626\u0644 \u0627\u0644\u0627\u062d\u062a\u064a\u0627\u0644 \u0627\u0644\u062a\u064a \u062a\u062f\u0651\u0639\u064a \u0623\u0646\u0647\u0627 \u0645\u0646 \u0643\u064a\u0648 \u0645\u0648\u0628\u064a\u0644\u064a\u062a\u064a<br \/>\u062a\u0623\u0643\u062f \u062f\u0627\u0626\u0645\u0627\u064b \u0645\u0646 \u0623\u0646 \u0627\u0644\u0631\u0627\u0628\u0637 \u0641\u064a \u0627\u0644\u0631\u0633\u0627\u0644\u0629 \u0627\u0644\u0646\u0635\u064a\u0629 \u0635\u062d\u064a\u062d \u0648\u0623\u0646 \u0627\u0644\u0631\u0633\u0627\u0644\u0629 \u0645\u0631\u0633\u0644\u0629 \u0645\u0646 \u0627\u0644\u062d\u0633\u0627\u0628 \u0627\u0644\u0631\u0633\u0645\u064a &#8220;\u0643\u064a\u0648 \u0645\u0648\u0628\u064a\u0644\u064a\u062a\u064a&#8221;.<br \/>\u0648\u064a\u062a\u0645\u0651 \u0627\u0644\u062f\u0641\u0639 \u0641\u0642\u0637 \u0639\u0628\u0631 \u0627\u0644\u0642\u0646\u0648\u0627\u062a \u0627\u0644\u0631\u0633\u0645\u064a\u0629: \u062a\u0637\u0628\u064a\u0642 \u062a\u0645 \u0623\u0648 \u062f\u0631\u0628 \u0623\u0648 \u0627\u0644\u0645\u0648\u0642\u0639 \u0627\u0644\u0625\u0644\u0643\u062a\u0631\u0648\u0646\u064a<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/X9qeDV8n0u\">https:\/\/t.co\/X9qeDV8n0u<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/lOSXVKihUe\">pic.twitter.com\/lOSXVKihUe<\/a>\u2014 Q Mobility (@qmobilityuae) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/qmobilityuae\/status\/2013859261600645467?ref_src=twsrc^tfw\">January 21, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p> <noscript> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" height=\"1\" width=\"1\" style=\"display:none\" src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/tr?id=593671331875494&amp;ev=PageView&amp;noscript=1\"\/><\/noscript><noscript><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.googletagmanager.com\/ns.html?id=GTM-P3PMSJN\" height=\"0\" width=\"0\" style=\"display:none;visibility:hidden\"><\/iframe><\/noscript><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/world\/middle-east\/abu-dhabi-darb-toll-scam-alert-fraudsters-sending-fake-pending-fees-messages-what-uae-residents-must-know\/articleshow\/126978446.cms\">Source link <\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>UAE Darb Toll Scam Alert: Drivers Warned of Fake SMS Messages Motorists across the UAE, especially in Abu Dhabi, have been warned about fraudulent messages lurking in text inboxes that&hellip;<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":70368,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-braking-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/sochtimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/uae-darb-toll-scam-alert-drivers-warned-of-fake-sms-messages.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sochtimes.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70367","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sochtimes.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sochtimes.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sochtimes.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sochtimes.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70367"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sochtimes.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70367\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sochtimes.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sochtimes.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sochtimes.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sochtimes.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}