Fraud alert in UAE: Social media accounts offering government services are fake, police warn

Victims falling prey to scammers advertising on social media platforms as representatives of licensed companies specialised in completing government services are on the rise.

Several residents in the UAE, who sought these services in return for a nominal fee, have lodged police complaints after being defrauded.

Security actions

The authorities have confirmed that fake representatives posing on behalf of licensed companies specialised in completing residency procedures, vehicle licenses, apartment rental contracts, enrolment of children in schools have deceived many residents.

The victims found out that they had been targeted by fraudsters who stole large sums of money from them for official transactions that were not completed.

Following the spread of these illegal practices, the Ministry of Interior warned against dealing with those who exploited the pandemic to swindle people by posting advertisements to provide services of completing transactions.

Major General Saif Al Zari Al Shamsi, Commander in chief of Sharjah Police, warned community members against dealing with unofficial accounts on social media or disclosing personal information because fraudsters use it to blackmail victims into obtaining money.

He stated that most of these people belong to organised fraud networks that use social networking sites to conduct their illicit activities and target families and young people in the Gulf countries and the Arab countries in general.

He stressed the need to verify the true identity of the advertisers before dealing with them, not to be deceived by attractive addresses, and not to send them an official document containing personal information.

He stressed that if the fraudsters originate from outside the country, the concerned departments communicate through official channels, such as the International Police (Interpol), to track the accused, arrest and prosecute them, contrary to the belief prevailing among some victims not to report the accused who are outside the country.

The Sharjah Police has also created electronic patrols to eliminate information technology crimes by monitoring suspicious and fake accounts of impersonators.

To official of the Cybercrime department at Sharjah Police said that these activities are carried out by organised networks, pointing to cybercrime, which constituted 39% of the total reports submitted to the concerned departments. "At least 19 reports are received by the concerned department in the police per month," Al Shamsi added.

An official at Dubai Police police said that they had received many complaints related to this kind of fraud, especially during the pandemic.

He attributed the main reasons for some residents communicating with these people for the alleged services is due to the reduce fee offer in comparison to the actual charges of the services.

Covid-19 had earlier witnessed movement restrictions, many expats saw their salaries reduced and children attending online classes; as a result, residents put their trust in such people who send their business cards to prove their credibility.

Penalties

Salim Sahoh, a legal advocate at Sharjah courts, said that the charges against the perpetrators of these crimes include a prison term of no less than two years and a fine of Dh20,000.

Lawyer Khaled Al-Mazmi said that an unlicensed person who impersonates as agent to clear transactions aim to obtain documents and personal data of customers and use them to commit several crimes such as 'impersonation' and falsifying transactions to serve their interests, such as extracting "Etisalat" cards with the names of document owners and selling them to people who may be legally wanted, what implicates the owners of this data.

He pointed out that if the scammers steal money through fraud, the penalty under Article 399 of the Federal Penal Code is "by imprisonment or a fine, and in aggravated circumstance, it may lead to imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years or a fine of no more than Dh20,000."

Al Mazami said, "If these people disclose information, they will be punished by imprisonment for a period of no less than one year and a fine of no less than Dh20,000, or by one of these two penalties, as stipulated in Article 379 of the same law."

He said, "As for civil liability, it is compensation for material and moral damages, according to Article 282 of the Civil Code, which confirms that every harm to others obliges the doer, even if he is not distinguished, to guarantee the damage."

Abdulatif was convinced and transferred the required amount. Soon his calls were not responded, which prompted him to file a report with the police to find out that the services were fake and that the documents were forged.