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29 March 2024

American saved from becoming fraud victim, thanks to Dubai Police

Announced deal value in Mena increased from $8.2 billion in Q1 2014 to $8.9 billion in Q1 2015. (File)

Published
By Muna Ahmed

The son of an American man called Dubai Police from the US seeking their help to convince his father and prevent him from meeting an African con man in Dubai and to help save his life-time savings.

Speaking to ‘Emirates 24|7’, Lt. Col. Abdullah Rashid Abdullah, Director-General of Commercial Crime Department at Dubai Police, said the American man found out about the African from one of the websites. “He knew him from a website, and the African con man claimed that he can double his money and he was able to convince the American.”

Lt. Col. Abdullah added that the American believed the African and he decided to give him all his savings so that he could have them doubled.
“We received a call from the American man’s son from the US. The son said that his father had withdrawn all his savings and pension benefits  and that he was coming to Dubai to meet the African at Dubai Airport. The son said the African was coming to Dubai Airport on transit, and that he claimed that he can double the money at the airport.”

Lt. Col. Abdullah explained that they set up a team, which was waiting for the American at the airport. “Our team met the American, and they tried to explain to him that he was about to be cheated and that the African was a fraud. But he did not believe us. The American was convinced that the African man was not fooling him and that he would really double his money. It took us some time to convince him not to meet the African man and fortunately, we were able to convince him.”

Lt. Col. Abdullah explained that they cannot arrest the African man because he did not commit any crime. “Plus, the American did not come to us directly and did not file an official complaint.”

He added that they normally set trap for con men and arrest them red-handed while committing crimes. In this case, the good thing was that they were able to save the American from becoming a fraud victim.

“We help all those who seek our help. We don’t ignore any call for help. In this case, the American man’s son called us from the US, and we formed a team which did its best to prevent him from losing his money. And fortunately, we convinced him not to deal with the African con-man.”