Sunday: 12 December 2010:
Brigadier Al Miheiri: Curbing mobile scammers needs community cooperation
ADP has confirmed in an analytical security study, that deterring mobile scammers locally and internationally will not be achieved without community solidarity and cooperation. It urges individuals and families to confront these illegal practices and to fight it by not responding to bogus prizes, and instead report them on spot. Police Authorities chase these criminals and storm their dens which produce such criminal activities.
This statement has been made by Brigadier Omeir Al Miheiri, Deputy Director General of ADP Policing Operations. He has revealed that mobile scams targeted during last year and first quarter of this year (15 months) 25 different nationalities in Abu Dhabi savings have been depleted, because the fell victims to mobile scammers. Emirates nationals earned the fourth position as victims of mobile scam. National position would advance if these irresponsible practices have no been dealt with firmly.
Scams have not spared anyone. The victims are not restricted to illiterate persons but educated and even highly educated people have fallen victims to scammers. The latter are the most targeted persons.
He has also affirmed that the selling of prepaid cards at shops and other places outside the offices of service providers, have contributed a lot to increase of mobile scams, as selling shops and places do not verify the buyers or have their personal details. Thus mobile scams will continue.
In the same context, Lt. Colonel Tariq Al Ghoul, Officer in Charge of Mobile Scams file at ADP Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and who has made the study said "We have through a list prepared by ADP, on which we have relied on our study, found that most of mobile scams have been made to mobiles bearing SIM cards bought from different places in 3 Emirates. These places are characterized by population density.
Al Ghoul has promised to that efforts of nabbing criminals and bringing them to justice will continue. Policemen will always beside the victim, until the victim reconsiders its situation and respond to police continuous calls not to fall victim to scammers.
Necessary legal and security measures should be made to curb the phenomenon, which its index increases locally and internationally, especially it has become very easy to get mobile service. Response to scams which ask them to transfer certain amount so as to win the prize, is a type of fraud which depletes the victim's savings and ruins his economic and social life.
He has been surprised for the repetition of the scams on victims of different age categories and education levels. The allure and hope of getting large amounts of money make people send monies to scammers, who inform them that they have won a prize but they have to send certain amount in order to finalize the prize formalities. People do not think why they won a prize of a competition which they have not participated in it at all.
Mobile scams have different forms. Information technology has become a fertile environment for scammers, especially the service providers deal flexibly with customers who market cards. Some scammers use mobile numbers outside the country sp as not to be identified through information registered by the service provider. The easy way of getting different mobile subscription cards, whether by residents or visitors, made these scams easier.
"Many trading firms have the culture of prize giving, the thing that creats an atm