Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi Police returned Dh99,000 to a bank customer who got caught in a fake prize trap, an official said on Sunday.
The Arab national who was recently victim of the scam received a call that he had won Dh500,000 in a lucky draw.
The fraudster persuaded the victim to disclose his credit card details and its pin number to transfer the [prize] amount into his account.
However, the victim’s bank statements established a payment to an unknown person.
Brigadier Tariq Khalfan Al Ghool, acting director of Criminal Investigation Department at Abu Dhabi Police, said, “The bank customer realised that he was caught in a fake prize trap after the money was withdrawn from his bank account.”
He quickly informed the Abu Dhabi Police about the incident.
The police in coordination with authorities managed to recover the stolen amount.
Al Ghool cautioned residents to be aware of such fake contest scams and responding to such calls whether locally or from other countries.
He also asked people to never share their personal details or banking information through mobile phones regardless of reasons given.
“Sharing such details will risk losing their savings and utilisation of their personal details for illegal purposes,” Al Ghool said.
The police also received similar complaints earlier and were dealt with in accordance with the procedures followed in this regard.
