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UAE Phishing Emails Up 77% Last Quarter, Kaspersky Says

Frequently used tactics included know-your-customer messages, free money offers, unusual email login activity and undelivered parcel warnings.

Published

3 years ago

August 25, 2023

Nour Nasir

uae phishing emails up 77% last quarter kaspersky says

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The United Arab Emirates saw a steep rise in emails containing phishing threats during the 2nd quarter of 2023.

The volume of scam emails increased by 77% compared to previous quarters, according to cyber threat experts Kaspersky, who also noted that illicit tactics were becoming more sophisticated.

The most prevalent phishing scams in the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa included emails involving undelivered parcels, know-your-customer messages, unusual email login activity warnings, and free money offers.

Known as social engineering scams, these tactics trick users into taking action by pretending to come from a trusted source. Once someone clicks a link in a phishing email, they will often be vulnerable to threats from malware or ransomware, which can cause significant harm to individuals and enterprises.

In January, the UAE Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority warned consumers to be on alert for scam text messages appearing to come from well-known courier companies, including DHL Express, Emirates Post, and Aramex, as they could be phishing scams.

“Once a cybercriminal understands what motivates an individual’s actions, they try to exploit their lack of knowledge and manipulate their behavior to meet the end goal,” said Kaspersky in its recent report.

Also Read: The Largest Data Breaches In The Middle East

In 2022, many scams involved emails containing fake links to free streaming of things like Netflix’s Stranger Things, The Batman movie, and the FIFA World Cup.

“There is no aspect of our life that cybercriminals cannot exploit. Human behavior and emotion is no exception,” explained Maher Yamout, lead security researcher at Kaspersky.

“These scams are a result of manipulation based on fear, curiosity, and greed. The key takeaway is to pay attention to basic details in emails before responding, even if they are from trusted sources because one wrong click can lead to harsh consequences,” the report also said.

Related Topics:Cybersecurity Hacking Kaspersky United Arab Emirates

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At I/O 2026, Sundar Pichai Concedes AI Must Deliver Real Value

Gemini 3.5, a personal agent called Spark, agentic shopping, and Android XR eyewear are all aimed at making AI feel useful, not just impressive.

Published

2 weeks ago

May 20, 2026

Nour Nasir

at io 2026 sundar pichai concedes ai must deliver real value

Google

Google’s annual I/O developer conference (I/O 2026) has recently become a status update on the same question: can the company turn its AI spending into products people use every day? This year, chief executive Sundar Pichai described Google as being in a phase of hyper progress, while conceding this is the part of the cycle where people want to see real value in the products they use on a day-to-day basis.

The strategy on display was to push agents — AI systems that act on a user’s behalf — into nearly every Google product at once. Search now has an “intelligent search box” that returns generated explainer videos alongside links. Gmail, Docs, YouTube and Maps are gaining their own agent layers, including a Docs Live feature that turns spoken instructions into drafted text with citations.

Two new models, Gemini 3.5 and a cheaper Gemini 3.5 Flash, arrived the same day. Google says 900 million people now use Gemini, and that more than 50 billion images have been generated with it. The pricing tier names are likely to confuse buyers: a new AI Ultra plan launches at $100 a month, while the older Gemini AI Ultra drops from $250 to $200.

The flashier announcements were Gemini Omni, a video generator pitched as a more realistic answer to OpenAI’s discontinued Sora 2, and Gemini Spark, a personal agent that handles recurring tasks across a user’s Google account. A new universal shopping cart lets agents complete purchases across multiple retailers from inside Google itself, placing the company between the merchant and the buyer, and also owning the checkout.

Also Read: DJI Teases Dual-Camera Osmo Pocket 4P For 2026 Launch

Google also confirmed its Android XR eyewear, built with Samsung and frames from Warby Parker and Gentle Monster. Audio-only glasses ship this autumn; a display-equipped version, which would superimpose live translations into the wearer’s field of view, is still in development. Both sets translate, however only the display version shows you the result.

What Pichai did not resolve is the bargain underneath all this. An agent is only useful to the degree it knows your calendar, your inbox, your shopping history and your physical surroundings. Google has now confirmed that, in time, the same context may carry advertising.