They hacked her bank account and took her savings

Fraudsters deceive a German young woman with letters attributed to Dubai police

• The sample letter that the fraudster claimed was sent by the Dubai Police.

  Emirates today

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The German "Sophia", who has been living in Dubai for many years, did not imagine that the call that woke her up on the morning of April 10, would turn into a real nightmare, when she discovers that she was exposed to a professional fraud during which she ended up seizing an amount her father had saved for her before his death at the beginning. This year.

The call lasted an hour, and her other party, according to Sophia, was a professional, tactful and convincing person, as he deluded her that there were changes to her account due to the circumstances of the Corona pandemic, and lured her to disclose her confidential data, after he sent her a text message attributed to Dubai Police, then hacked her account Via the mobile application, withdraw the amount within two minutes.

Sophia assures «Emirates Today» that she blamed herself enough, as she had previously read about these fraudulent methods, but she did not imagine that she would fall into it with this naivety, noting that she reported the incident to Dubai Police, and it was found that one of the accused carried out the fraud from outside the country, While the last person withdrew part of the amount through an exchange company.

In detail, the full-fledged crime began when Timna Sophia received a notification from one of the approved postal companies, stating that there was a shipment scheduled to arrive to it, and then she received a call from a local number and the caller claimed that he follows the bank in which her account is located, and he told her that the shipment that will be You receive it as an alternative bank debit card, because there is a change in the regulations due to the circumstances of the Corona pandemic.

She added that the caller was nice, spoke English politely, and sent me a text message attributed to Dubai Police, in addition to another warning message against completely freezing the account and cards, if the data was not updated via a number dedicated to the "WhatsApp" service.

When asked about her perception of the relationship between Dubai police and updating bank data, and how she can be convinced of this trick, Sophia says: "I realize that I mistrusted them, but the caller was surrounding me and psychologically manipulating me."

She indicates that she responded to his requests and gave him the numbers of her bank card, then made a more serious mistake by giving him the three secret numbers on the back of the card, and the line remained open between them for an entire hour, and in the meantime she opened the bank application on her phone, to find that he added another person as a beneficiary with her from the account, She was violently shocked, and she asked him why, so he tried to calm her down and informed her that this was a normal procedure.

She continues that she was surprised to withdraw the amount of 25 thousand from the account and transfer it to an account in another bank, then she realized that she was being defrauded and screamed about it, but he stalled her, and asked her various questions to distract her, then he removed her from the application, and when she came back, she was surprised to withdraw the rest of the amount.

Sophia says: “My loss is not just my need for this money, but it was the last thing I had left of my father, which I had not been able to see since the beginning of the Corona pandemic and the conditions of air closure, and when I traveled to Germany he died the night before my arrival, and he was keen to leave me This amount as help from him in my living expenses ».

She adds that she contacted the bank directly, denouncing the addition of another beneficiary to the cash transfer via her phone application, although this procedure should usually take several hours, but they were able to penetrate her account as soon as she gave them the data and executed two transfers within less than two minutes, pointing out that the bank opened an investigation In the event.

She points out that she also turned to Dubai police, which showed interest and conducted her investigations directly, and it was found that one of those involved in the crime is outside the country, and that another person carried out four cash withdrawals from inside the country, and is currently being tracked.

Sophia asserts that there are several reasons for her falling into the trap, including that her account is constantly active and receives transfers from her clients, so she did not imagine that she would be targeted by these fraudsters, as well as that the person who spoke to her knew a lot of information about her, so she ruled out being a fraud.

She adds crying that it is a cruel experience, as the fraudsters do not realize the size of the tragedy they leave behind, especially if the victim is in dire need of money.

The first chief prosecutor at the Public Prosecution in Dubai, an expert in cybercrime, Counselor Dr. Khaled Al-Junaibi, warned against negligence in preserving the confidentiality of bank data, especially those related to credit cards.

He stressed that electronic fraud gangs are using advanced means and techniques in hacking operations, indicating that the relevant agencies in the country provide adequate protection systems, but card holders must have a degree of responsibility in maintaining the confidentiality of their data.

One person accused of carrying out the fraud operation from abroad, while another took over withdrawing part of the amount from an exchange company inside the country.

Sophia: "The caller was nice, spoke English politely, and sent me a letter attributed to Dubai Police."

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