Dubai: An Asian man, who hired two professional hackers in Dubai to hack the internet accounts of his future wife and her mother to find out if his fiancée had any previous relationships, was traced by Dubai Police.

This was one of the 1,549 cybercrime cases Dubai Police handled in 2014, according to Lt Col Saeed Al Hajiri, Director of the Cyber Investigation Department at Dubai Police.

The incident came to light when the woman and her mother, who are also Asian, reported to Dubai Police that their accounts had been hacked.

The woman had recently been engaged, and after investigations, Dubai Police managed to catch the hackers, which led them to the woman’s fiancé.

“Some people think they can get away with crimes online. They think they are untraceable, but they are not,” said Lt Col Al Hajiri, adding that Dubai Police are always up-to-date with trends in cyber crime.

In 2014, Lt Col Al Hajiri said, there were 248 cases of fraud, 163 cases of information security breaches, 389 cases of blackmail, 235 cases involving electronic payments and 514 other cybercrime cases. More than 190 people were arrested in cybercrime-related cases in Dubai.

However, he said, the majority of cyber criminals do not operate from the UAE and these criminals are identified and brought to justice through international collaboration.

His remarks came at a press conference announcing an internet safety campaign by Dubai Police in collaboration with 30 other departments and organisations that will start on February 10.

The campaign was organised following directives of Lt Gen Shaikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior.

Col Dr Jasem Khalil Mirza, Director of the Security Awareness department at the General Directorate of Community Services at Dubai Police, said the campaign targets all sectors of society, but with a special focus on children as they are the most vulnerable.

The campaign will have a social media presence, Col Mirza said, and there will be lectures and awareness shows in Kidzania, one of the main partners in the campaign.

“Some schools are also participating in this campaign with awareness sketches and other activities.”

Dr Mohammad Murad Abdullah, Director of the Decision Support Centre at Dubai Police and Secertary-General of the Juvenile Care and Awareness Association, said that families take the biggest share of responsibility when it comes to internet safety for children.

Part of the responsibility also falls on schools and educational institutions which is why, he said, this campaign is very important as it will reach children, and their parents, who can use the information to protect their children.

“International studies showed that 25-30 per cent of children have been victims of sexual harassment online, whether by being exposed to pornography, or by getting into relationships with adults,” he said.

Lt Col Al Hajiri said they have a zero-tolerance policy for paedophiles.

“We are proactive in protecting children from internet predators. Anyone who posts or downloads photos or videos or content that have paedophilic themes is tracked and arrested immediately. They are then tried and deported,” Lt Col Al Hajiri said.

Last year, there were 25 such cases and most of the suspects have been deported.