Dubai Police arrest 86 suspects of phone scams, shut down 8,000 phone numbers

Somaiya Saad, Staff Reporter

Colonel Saeed Al Hajri, Director of Dubai Police’s Cybercrime Department has warned the public of the latest phone scams carried out to embezzle and seize money out of people.

It was pointed out that such criminals carry out their scam by contacting their target victims and pretending to be bank employees.

The scammers convince victims that their credit cards will be blocked if personal information were not renewed, in order to illegally obtain various amounts of cash.

Another scam which they use is by impersonating employees of some random company, making their victim believe they have won money in a raffle draw.

The Dubai Police’s warnings of such frauds has come as a part of an awareness campaign that was launched prevent the occurring of ongoing phone scams.

The photo has been used for illustrative purposes.

Police officials revealed that in 2020, around 400 reports were filed by victims of phone scams, which lead to the arrest of 86 suspects and the blocking of 8,000 numbers used to carry out the scams.

Col. Al Hajri stated that police teams are putting excessive efforts in catching such fraudsters, but individuals must also keep an open eye and not fall victim to such scam tricks.

Moreover, the awareness campaign carried by the Dubai Police under the title ‘Don’t fall victim for fraud’ will continue until the end of this year.

The campaign is launched in collaboration with UAE Central Bank, Telecommunications Regulatory Authority and the Dubai Electronic Security Center.

Last but not least, police officials urged Individuals to confirm with their banks as soon as they suspect being victims of phone scams, in order to prevent the illegal withdrawal of their money.