Abu Dhabi resident tells of international card cloning fraud

ABU DHABI // Fraudsters targeted a customer of a leading UAE bank with illicit card transactions that almost left her thousands of dirhams out of pocket.

D N said she received a phone call at 5.39am on March 2 from a customer service representative at HSBC bank in Dubai, asking her to confirm she was making a transaction at luxury department store Barneys New York.

“I told her that I was physically in Abu Dhabi and was definitely not making a large purchase at Barneys New York,” she said. “She then proceeded to tell me that they could put a block on my HSBC credit card but I would still have to go into their main branch to sign a complaint and sign a waiver form stating I hadn’t made the purchase.”

When she visited HSBC on Airport Road, D N was told her card had been charged US$486.45 (Dh1,786) at the store and that two further charges of $313.49 (Dh1,151) and $545.91 (Dh2,005) had been attempted at the same place.

She managed to get her money back last week but was taken aback by how someone could have cloned her card. HSBC is still trying to work out how her details was duplicated.

“I have no idea who would have gotten my credit card information, as I only have one card, which was with me,” she said. “HSBC told me the card was physically swiped at Barneys NY. I have been a paralegal for more than 25 years and my profession has me researching law and criminal cases, and I have absolutely no idea how someone can get your details and create a new credit card.”

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If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.

2. E-invoicing in the UAE

Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.

3. More tax audits

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4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime

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6. Further transfer pricing enforcement

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Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer

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Treaty of Peace in Perpetuity Agreed Upon by the Chiefs of the Arabian Coast on Behalf of Themselves, Their Heirs and Successors Under the Mediation of the Resident of the Persian Gulf, 1853
(This treaty gave the region the name “Trucial States”.)

We, whose seals are hereunto affixed, Sheikh Sultan bin Suggar, Chief of Rassool-Kheimah, Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon, Chief of Aboo Dhebbee, Sheikh Saeed bin Buyte, Chief of Debay, Sheikh Hamid bin Rashed, Chief of Ejman, Sheikh Abdoola bin Rashed, Chief of Umm-ool-Keiweyn, having experienced for a series of years the benefits and advantages resulting from a maritime truce contracted amongst ourselves under the mediation of the Resident in the Persian Gulf and renewed from time to time up to the present period, and being fully impressed, therefore, with a sense of evil consequence formerly arising, from the prosecution of our feuds at sea, whereby our subjects and dependants were prevented from carrying on the pearl fishery in security, and were exposed to interruption and molestation when passing on their lawful occasions, accordingly, we, as aforesaid have determined, for ourselves, our heirs and successors, to conclude together a lasting and inviolable peace from this time forth in perpetuity.

Taken from Britain and Saudi Arabia, 1925-1939: the Imperial Oasis, by Clive Leatherdale