Phone Scam of 11.8 Million Dirhams in Dubai; Two Suspects Arrested

A phone scam of 11.8 million dirhams in Dubai; two suspects arrested.
A phone call was the start of the story; the callers introduced themselves as representatives of official or international organizations and told the victims that their names had appeared in cases outside the UAE.
After instilling fear, they threatened the victims that they might face legal consequences and asked them to transfer amounts from their bank accounts to accounts outside the UAE for "verification and confirmation" of the legitimacy of the money; with the promise that the money would be returned later.
However, if the transferred amount was not sufficient, more pressure would be applied. In some cases, the suspects asked the victims to sell their gold and transfer the proceeds as well.
Some victims were even told to book hotel rooms and not to contact others until their innocence was confirmed. According to the police, the aim of these actions was to isolate the victims and maintain control over them.
The Dubai Police Anti-Fraud Center formed a specialized team to investigate the information and trace the money transfer after receiving reports. The investigation ultimately led to the identification and arrest of two suspects.
During interrogation, the suspects confessed to the phone scam and stated that they had been in contact with a group outside the UAE through social media; a group that paid them money for each successful scam.
Analysis of recorded phones also revealed personal information of the victims and conversations related to the cases, providing more evidence against them for the police.
To report fraud attempts, the eCrime platform or the Dubai Police call center 901 can be used.
Source: Gulf Times