Dubai Police arrest 494 for phone banking fraud

Scammers urge the public to update bank details in bid to access accounts

Detained fraud suspects shown with seized assets. Photo: Dubai Police

Dubai Police have arrested 494 people involved in 406 phone fraud cases over the past year.

Phone calls, emails, text messages and social media links were used by fraudsters to gain access to the savings and bank accounts of members of the public.

Significant amounts of money, mobile phones, laptops and SIM cards were seized by Dubai Police, who said the scams were orchestrated by criminals urging people to “update their banking information”.

Dubai Police reaffirmed that fraud is punishable by strict penalties.

Brig Harib Al Shamsi, acting director of the General Department for Criminal Investigation at Dubai Police, urged the public to guard against revealing banking details or credit card information to anyone purporting to be from a financial institution.

Banks never solicit banking information updates by telephone, he added.

"Customers are advised to update their details directly through the banks' branches, official customer service representatives, or authenticated banking applications,” Brig Al Shamsi said.

Public urged to be vigilant

The public are have been urged to report scams through Dubai Police's platforms, including the Police Eye feature on the Dubai Police app, the eCrime platform, the Smart Police Station, or by calling the 901 contact centre.

The force regularly sends out warnings over the threat posed by criminals aiming to secure sensitive information to trick people out of cash.

In June, Dubai Police have raised the alarm over a fake traffic fine scam.

Cyber criminals sought to dupe unsuspecting drivers with email messages featuring an official logo and similar layout used by the force.

Recipients of these emails were informed they had to pay a traffic fine and were requested to settle the payment within 24 hours by clicking on a link.

The link directed them to a website designed to resemble that of Dubai Police, where users were prompted to enter personal information, including credit card details, to pay the supposed fine.