Seven scammers ordered to repay Dh439,000 after fake bank text drains victim's account

The Al Ain Court for Civil, Commercial and Administrative Claims has ordered a seven-member gang to repay Dh439,000 to a man they defrauded using a fake bank message, before transferring the money into their own accounts. The court also awarded the victim Dh30,000 in compensation for the damage he suffered.

According to case documents, the plaintiff filed a lawsuit demanding that the defendants be held jointly liable for returning the stolen funds, plus legal interest, as well as Dh50,000 in compensation for emotional and psychological harm, Emarat Al Youm reported. He explained that the defendants and others tricked him into believing he needed to urgently update his bank account after receiving a fraudulent text message, followed by a phone call from someone impersonating a bank employee who obtained his confidential information.

Criminal proceedings had already resulted in the defendants being convicted in absentia and sentenced to imprisonment and deportation. Evidence submitted in the civil case included detailed records of the amounts transferred to each defendant, with all seven found to have been properly notified but failing to appear.

In its judgment, the court cited legal principles stating that no one may take another’s property without lawful cause, and that anyone who unlawfully receives funds must return them. It found that the defendants’ actions lacked any legitimate basis and directly caused the victim financial loss, deprivation of benefit, and psychological distress including anxiety and fear over losing his money.

The court ordered the defendants to repay the stolen sums as follows:
Dh70,000 from the first defendant; Dh120,000 from the second; Dh40,000 each from the third and fourth; Dh78,000 each from the fifth and sixth; and Dh13,000 from the seventh. They were also ordered, jointly, to pay Dh30,000 in compensation, along with legal fees and costs.