Sharjah Police arrest 5 criminals for phishing Dhs3m electronically

Mahmoud Mohsen, Staff Reporter

In a qualitative operation called "173," Sharjah Police arrested a criminal network of 5 people who ran the network from outside the UAE as they were specialised in electronic fraud crimes.

The suspects phishing Dhs3,011, 854 from accounts linked to 11 anonymous reports received by police departments all around the UAE, according to Major General Saif Al Zari Al Shamsi, Commander-in-Chief of Sharjah Police.

Brigadier Omar Ahmed Abu Al Zoud, Director of the Sharjah CID revealed that a report was received from an Arab working for a company inside the country, stating that he received a message from a supplier via email requesting an update of the bank data.

After updating and after he transferred Dhs85,713,052 to the bank account number sent by the fake company, he discovered that the email was fake.

Abu Al Zoud pointed out that a team of cybercrime experts was formed to verify the fraud operation and arrest the perpetrators.

Technical investigation revealed that the email was fake, and technical follow-up revealed that the money transfer was done from outside the country.

An African who withdrew Dhs20,000 from the amount, was also identified and arrested in a trap in his house, along with others who lived with him, and were proved to be involved with others in crimes related to cyber fraud.

As many as 173 bank cards and 132 checkbooks belonging to victims whose bank details were used to commit fraud, were found in possession of the suspects. Police also found 21 smart phones, 18 Emirates ID cards belonging to victims who had left the country, 6 stamps of fake companies, and Dhs95,320 obtained from withdrawals made through electronic fraud.

Abu Al Zoud explained that the perpetrators premeditatedly purchased 173 accounts from their original owners who left the country, and that they controlled the accounts and bank cards and transferred money from one account to another to mislead the police.

Lieutenant Ahmed Al Bahai and Lieutenant Nouf Abdul Rahim Al Harmoudi said that there were 4 cybercrimes which have been frequently reported recently, namely: “Fake job advertisements”, “Fake websites”, “Electronic impersonation of persons and institutions” and “Electronic hacks”. They also warned against dealing with websites or what is circulated via social media platforms.