The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) at Abu Dhabi Police, managed to arrest a two-member gang trying to hide small electronic devices in ATMs. The two men intended to use the devices to spy on cardholders to steal their debit card numbers, capture the PIN numbers as they are keyed in, and – ultimately – steal their money. The police managed to promptly arrest the suspects and to save the community from their evil actions.
The Abu Dhabi Police had learned about the intentions of two Eastern European tourists in their thirties, identified as “F” and “M.A”, to carry out ATM-based thefts. Both men were placed under close surveillance and were arrested prying around an ATM, with four small devices “skimmers” in their possession. A set of different other devices were also seized at their hotel room in Abu Dhabi.
Colonel Dr. Rashid Mohammad Borshid, Head of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), explained that a team from the department was assigned to stake out the different ATMs and detected the suspicious movements of two individuals. “Both men were suspiciously checking ATM machines on a street in the capital. The CID members stopped both men and carried out a pat down based on reasonable suspicion; they found four devices in their possession designed to steal bank cards’ information and PIN numbers,” said Colonel Borshid.
The Head of the Criminal Investigation Department called on bank card holders and ATM users to be cautions and to require the SMS service from their banks to directly follow-up on their account transactions via their smart phones. He also encouraged them to change their PIN numbers regularly; inform the bank when changing their phone number; and to report any suspicious withdrawals in a bid to strengthen precautionary measures.
The Abu Dhabi Police had learned about the intentions of two Eastern European tourists in their thirties, identified as “F” and “M.A”, to carry out ATM-based thefts. Both men were placed under close surveillance and were arrested prying around an ATM, with four small devices “skimmers” in their possession. A set of different other devices were also seized at their hotel room in Abu Dhabi.
Colonel Dr. Rashid Mohammad Borshid, Head of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), explained that a team from the department was assigned to stake out the different ATMs and detected the suspicious movements of two individuals. “Both men were suspiciously checking ATM machines on a street in the capital. The CID members stopped both men and carried out a pat down based on reasonable suspicion; they found four devices in their possession designed to steal bank cards’ information and PIN numbers,” said Colonel Borshid.
The Head of the Criminal Investigation Department called on bank card holders and ATM users to be cautions and to require the SMS service from their banks to directly follow-up on their account transactions via their smart phones. He also encouraged them to change their PIN numbers regularly; inform the bank when changing their phone number; and to report any suspicious withdrawals in a bid to strengthen precautionary measures.