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29 March 2024

Dubai Police cracks Dh800,000 cybercrime

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By Staff

In a bold and daring operation, Dubai Police’s Cyber Crimes division restored a UAE resident’s Dh800,000 after the money had been illegally transferred to a European country through an online hack.

According to the authority, a native Arab filed a complaint with Dubai Police, informing someone had hacked into the email account of an overseas firm with which he had business dealings.

The fraudulent mail commissioned a shipment of goods to the UAE resident for the sum of Dh800,000.

However, the resident realise he had been duped shortly after the money had been transferred.

By then, the sum had already been transferred to a secondary account in Europe.

Lt Col Saeed Al Hajri, Director of the Cyber Investigation Department at Dubai Police revealed they immediately contacted the bank in question and managed to freeze the account before the hacker transferred it elsewhere.

Rise in cybercrimes

Dubai Police’s Cyber Crimes division successfully thwarted 1,849 potential attacks in 2015, recording a significant increase from 2014’s 1,580 cases.

Major-General Khalil Ibrahim Al Mansouri, Assistant Commander-in-Chief of Dubai Police for Criminal Investigation attributed the success rate to the intensive campaigns and lectures that raised public awareness among community members and motivated them to report crime.

Al Mansouri confirmed that Dubai Police is harnessing all material to fight electronic crimes, in addition to developing the capacity of experts and technicians.

Modern day criminal cases have changed in light of advanced technological methods now executed in crimes of fraud, forgery, extortion and more, Al Mansouri explained.

He added that due to such a development in criminal methodologies, Dubai Police established a special department to combat cybercrime in 2002 on instructions of Lt. General Dhahi Khalfan Al Tamim, the Dubai Police commander at the time.

Since its inception in 2008, the department has investigated 8,493 possible criminal cases.

Cybercrimes are on the rise, with H1 2016 seeing Dubai Police record 1,072 potential attacks.

From 2009, Dubai Police has launched electronic journals to address all kinds of cybercrimes, which are fought even before they occur.

Al Mansouri said the best way to combat cybercrime was via international cooperation. Al Hajri further added that cybercrimes were threatening the stability of society.

He pointed out that there are many examples of cybercrimes such as hacking and piracy, violation of intellectual property rights and the sexual exploitation of children.

Al Hajri called for community members to contact the toll free number 800-CID (800 243), or email: cid@dubaipolice.gov.ae, or come in person to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to report cybercrimes such as extortion or fraud.