Court jails fake bank agent for stealing Dh8,000

Dubai: An Asian man has been jailed for a month in Dubai after stealing Dh8,000 from an employee by posing as a bank representative and claiming the victim needed to “update his banking details”.

The Dubai Court of Misdemeanours also fined him the full value of the stolen amount and ordered his deportation after serving his sentence.

The case dates to February, when an Arab employee filed a police report stating that he had been defrauded and that Dh8,000 had been withdrawn from his bank account. The plaintiff told investigators that he received a call from the defendant, who claimed the bank needed to update his personal information to prevent his account from being frozen, according to Al Khaleej Arabic daily.

Believing the call to be genuine, the victim provided his personal data, including his bank account number, card details and Emirates ID. During the call, he received a one-time password (OTP), which the caller requested. Moments after sharing it, the employee received an alert showing that Dh8,000 had been withdrawn from his account and transferred to a card issued by a local exchange house. He immediately alerted the police.

A police officer testified that investigators were able to identify and arrest the suspect. During questioning, the man denied any involvement, claiming that someone of another nationality had previously taken his ID card under the pretext of helping him find a job and might have opened the account without his knowledge.

However, the court rejected this defence. In its judgment, it said the investigation clearly showed that the defendant had opened the exchange-house account himself and used it to make two purchases using the stolen funds. The court found him guilty and issued its sentence accordingly.