Fake bank customer staff dupes woman in UAE
07:51AM Thu 1 Aug, 2019
A man stood trial at the Fujairah Misdemeanour Court on charges of duping a woman of cash, abusing electronic gadgets and telecommunication services.
As per court records, the case unfolded when the victim received a call from an unidentified number. The suspect posed as a customer service staff of a local bank in which she has an account.
He asked her to update her details and offered his help. The man then asked her to photocopy her Emirates ID and bank credit card, and sent them to him.
The woman immediately sent him copies of the identification documents via WhatsApp.
After this, the man asked the victim to send him the PIN of her credit card so he could activate it. The unsuspecting victim complied.
A day later, the woman received an SMS saying that she withdrew a certain amount of money (unidentified) from her bank account.
When she inquired about the bank transaction she never made, she was surprised to know that it was a "normal dealing". It was then that the woman realised she had been conned.
She immediately froze her credit card, and alerted the city police station, which launched an investigation and tracked down the suspect, who turned out to be a fraudster.
The defendant was referred to the public prosecution and then to the court, where he admitted to his crime.
The court ordered adjournment of the case to a later timing for giving verdict.
The law enforcement and telecommunication bodies have been repeatedly warning the public against proliferation of such frauds and scams. Advocate Haidi Abdulhadi said: "People should only deal with trusted suppliers whenever they want to buy a product or get a service."
Scammers mislead people and cheat them by giving them fake and extraordinary offers, she added. "One should report such suspicious practices and people to the security bodies concerned."
Quite often, unsuspecting residents in the UAE receive promotional messages on WhatsApp and social media from top brands, including hypermarkets, declaring them winners of a "non-existing" promotion.
Source: Khaleej Times
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