Number's up for phone scam

Abu Dhabi Police has made significant arrests in a raid targeting a seven-member gang who used to call random mobile phone numbers belonging to Asian nationals, attempting to dupe them into believing that they had won cash prizes from etisalat and asking them to transfer certain amounts in the form of pre-paid phone card balances to the caller's number.

Colonel Dr Rashid Mohammed Bu Rasheed, Head of the Anti-Organised Crimes at the Criminal Investigation Department, said the police reacted immediately to a tip off about Asian fraudsters who resort to a typical trick of calling unsuspected phone users, telling them they were the lucky winners and asking them to transfer certain amount in order to claim their cash prizes, ranging from Dh100,000 to Dh200,000.

According to Colonel Bu Rasheed, the gang was led by a resident of Abu Dhabi who, after every successful operation, used to keep 60 per cent of the transferred amount for himself.

The rest of the gang members had entered the country on visit visas.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.