Abu Dhabi Police arrest 80 phone scammers

The scammers were arrested over a period of six months

 Police in Abu Dhabi have stepped up efforts to put an end to phone scamming.  AP

Eighty people suspected of running phone scams that offered people fake prizes in exchange for their personal details were arrested over the past six months in Abu Dhabi.

Police said the scammers used several techniques to dupe people into giving them their bank details. They said some would pretend to be bank employees and would call victims, ask them for their pin code and then use it to

steal their money.

Police said others would call and tell people they had won a cash prize to trick them into giving them their bank account details, alleging that they would use the information to transfer them their winnings.

Some of the scams involved sending victims links to fake banking websites, through email or WhatsApp, that prompt people to update their personal information to avoid having their services disrupted. The information was inevitably used to steal money from the victims.

On Sunday, police warned the public against such scams, urging people to report suspicious messages and never to give out their bank details.