Dubai: Dubai Police have issued an arrest warrant against a woman who bought goods worth Dh21,000 on a flight with an non-active credit card, an official said.
The Arab traveller was flying aboard an Emirates flight from the United States to an Arab country via Dubai when she used her credit card to buy goods but the airline discovered later that the card had not been activated.
Major-General Khalil Ebrahim Al Mansouri, Assistant Commander-in-Chief for Criminal Investigation Affairs of Dubai Police, said the woman must have known that credit cards are swiped via wireless hand-held card readers on aircraft but the transactions are processed when the aircraft gets on the ground.
“The service of buying stuff on aircraft was offline when she bought the goods. And after landing, the airline discovered the scam and informed airport police that the card used by the woman wasn’t activated,” Maj-Gen Al Mansouri said.
The airline contacted the woman via her email address and asked her to pay the amount but she ignored the emails and calls.
“We identified the woman and issued a warrant through the Interpol to arrest her. It is a crime and police can bring the suspect to justice even if the person is a transit traveller,” he added.
Meanwhile, Colonel Salah Bu Osaiba, director of the Anti-Economic Crimes Department, said they have registered three fraud cases of using non-active credit cards so far this year, compared to seven similar cases registered last year.
“We were alerted by the airline about the traveller as she bought stuff worth Dh21,000 with a non-active credit card. When the plane landed, the airline discovered the scam,” Col Bu Osaiba said.
He urged airlines to activate the online mode while travellers buy items during flight as they have internet connections.
“Making the transaction online is important to protect the airline companies from scammers,” he said.
