Dubai Police urge public to report online extortion, use e-crime platform

Dubai: The police have urged victims of online extortion to waste no time in reporting such incidents to authorities, as any hesitation on their part only encourages scamsters to target more victims.

Major General Khalil Ebrahim Al Mansouri, Assistant Commander-in-Chief for Criminal Investigation Affairs at Dubai Police, said that electronic crime victims often do not report the crimes against them because they are embarrassed or do not want their personal information made public.

“People shouldn’t hesitate to report online extortion. They can lodge a complaint regarding electronic crimes like hacking, by using the e-crime reporting platform on the Dubai Police website and app. Many victims come forward and lodge their complaints in a confidential and secure way,” Maj Gen Al Mansouri said.

The e-crime reporting platform received 1,933 complaints since its launch on May 3 this year, according to Dubai Police official stats.

Meanwhile, Lieutenant Colonel Salem Salmeen, Deputy Director of Cybercrimes Department at Dubai Police, said they received a complaint recently from an Arab woman who was conned of Dh30,000 by a scammer.

“She met a handsome man on social media and he promised to marry her. She was desperate to become a wife due to her age and he took advantage of that and started asking for money to solve his financial problems. She wired the money for him,” Lt Col Salmeen said.

The scammer first told her that he needed the money for his sick mother and later, that he had a financial problem. But she discovered that he was manipulating her after giving him Dh30,000. She reported the crime to the Dubai Police, who arrested the man and referred him to public prosecution. “People should alert the police as soon as they get caught in online extortion, so we can help them. Don’t be afraid of calling 901 or using the e-crime platform,” he added.