Dubai: Residents and tourists can report online crimes and ask for technical support to recover their social media accounts by using the Dubai Police e-crime platform on their smartphones, an official said.
Dubai Police launched the hassle-free platform on its app so the public can report online crimes like cyber extortion, online hacking, Internet fraud and online identity theft, without the need to visit a police station.
Brigadier Jamal Salem Al Jallaf, director of Criminal Investigation Department at Dubai Police, said people can report a crime in less than five minutes.
“Many complaints are being reported to Dubai Police since we launched the platform. In the past people were reluctant but this platform has cut the time and effort,” Brigadier Al Jallaf said on a press conference at the Dubai Police headquarters.
The platform received 14,132 complaints until September 2019, including 9,390 complaints from men and 4,742 complaints from women.
“Before the platform was launched, we recorded 1,694 complaints about online crimes,” he said, adding that 312 complaints that hev come through the platform are from youngsters under the age of 18.
Brigadier Khalid Nasser Al Razooqi, director of the Artificial Intelligence Department at Dubai Police, said people can use the e-crime platform on the Dubai Police application which is available both at IOS and Android stores.
“After you click on the platform service in the application, you need to fill in the details and then click send. The service is provided in seven languages,” Brig Al Razooqi said.
The public can also use virtual assistant ‘Amna’ on the app to get necessary guidance.
“People can press the image on ‘Amna’ after opening the application and give voice commands for the services they need. ‘Amna’ is in the process of learning and the more Amna is used, the greater the ability to understand questions and answer them,” he added.
Meanwhile, Colonel Saeed Al Hajiri, director of Cyber-Crimes Department at Dubai Police, said that AI used in the platform analyses the data and the complaint type before it reaches the specific police officer.
“In less than five minutes, the person can lodge a complaint through e-crime and it will reach the correct department or officer in Dubai Police. Some complaints were about technical support, questions on how to recover their accounts and reporting online crimes like blackmail, insult and illegally obtaining people’s money,” Col Al Hajiri added.
Captain Abdullah Al Shehi, deputy director of Cybercrimes Department in Dubai Police, said the victim can click on the platform, register himself by entering details like Emirates ID number and the phone number and then provide information about the incident.
“The platform has been launched to encourage people to come forward and lodge their complaints in a confidential and secure way if they are victims of e-crimes,” he added.
How to use the platform on a smartphone
1. Click on e-crime service on Dubai Police app
2. Choose the complaint type: Personal, private entity, local government entity or federal entity
3. Submit Emirates ID electronically
4. Submit address, mobile number and email address
5. Enter complaint details, attachments like pictures or videos; explain if the crime caused financial losses and submit
