Saturday: 22 August 2009 :
Dh 9000 to get a ₤750,000 prize. How?
Abu Dhabi Police asked " Is it possible, one should pay even a small amount, to win a prize which he has not participated in". Still there are some people who fall simply victims to cyber crime.
Abu Dhabi Police arrested a foreign tourist who cheated an expatriate lady telling her that she had won a ₤750,000 prize, and that she should pay Dh 9000 to get her prize.
Colonel Maktoum Al Shareefi, Director the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) at Abu Dhabi Police tells the details of the incident, as follows; "The criminal identified as T. N. S. '32 years' met the victim, identified as L. S. D. '33 years' at a shopping mall in Abu Dhabi, after many e-mails and phone calls between them, continued for 13 days".
"The criminal gave the victim a mid size suitcase, inside it was a well locked safe containing thousands of black papers cut in the size of currency notes. He told her that the amount of the prize was in the bag, but the key was not with him, and she should take the bag to a shop to open it. He asked her to give him the required fees (Dh 9000) to get her prize.
The Police arrested the man red-handed. He gave the victim false information about being the representative of the European company and he would visit UAE soon to deliver her prize. After few days he called her announcing his arrival in UAE, though he is actually in UAE, and he would like to meet her in a shopping mall.
According to Lt. Colonel (Dr.) Rashid Bu Rasheed, Head of Organized Crime Section at ADP CID Explosives Section personnel used topical explosives to open the safe inside the bag. They found thousands of black papers similar in shape and size to currency notes. These were kept as evidence to be presented to the court.
The criminal denied his awareness of what was inside the safe. There were two individuals identified as A. H. and K. W. he had met recently in one hotel and asked him to give the victim the bag and to receive the fees from her (₤4,000). They promised to give him 30% of the received amount as he tries very hard to collect the cost of the surgical operation he is supposed to undergo. He has revealed that he has come from an African country where he has been living as a refugee for 14 years. He lives in a hotel in UAE now.
The Head of Organized Crime Section the Police will sooner or later will send every fraud behind the bars.
