Dubai: Residents who have their WhatsApp accounts hacked can recover their accounts by contacting Dubai Police through their e-crime platform, an official said on Wednesday.
Captain Abdullah Al Shehi, Deputy Director of the Cybercrimes Department of Dubai Police, said that residents can report crimes on the platform as well as recover their hacked accounts.
“The e-crime platform was founded to report crimes and receive public complaints regarding electronic crimes,” said Al Shehi, after the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) issued a notice for residents to update their WhatsApp following reports that phones belonging to some residents had been hacked.
“Residents who have their WhatsApp accounts hacked can receive technical support by contacting the platform to recover the account while he or she is sitting in their home,” he added.
The TRA issued a notice after the Facebook-owned firm admitted a security breach in the messaging tool that enabled cyber attackers to infiltrate devices remotely using spyware.
Residents who have their WhatsApp accounts hacked can receive technical support by contacting the platform to recover the account while he or she is sitting in their home.
Dubai Police said that the e-crime platform had received 9,046 complaints since its launch on May 3 last year.
“About 1,277 complaints were for technical support to recover hacked social media accounts. We recovered 1,177 WhatsApp accounts, 90 Instagram accounts and ten accounts of Facebook and SnapChat.”
Al Shehi urged the public to use the e-crime platform instead of coming to the station for quicker turnaround times.
A victim can lodge a complaint regarding electronic crimes ranging from blackmail to hacking and illegal money transfers on www.ecrime.ae.
“In the past, victims of online crime were confused of who to report their complaint to,” said Al Shehi. “They either went to a police station or called 999 or 901, but the e-crime platform is an easy way for the public to lodge complaints. Dubai Police are keen to provide innovative solutions and easy and smart services,” he added.
A victim can visit the site, register by entering their Emirates ID and phone numbers before submitting details of the incident they want to report. To date there have been 5,000 tip offs.
“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,” said Al Shehi.
Often victims of e-crime don’t report crimes committed against them because they are embarrassed and don’t want their personal information going public, but with this new platform, Dubai Police believe they will be able to better assess e-crime rates and be in a better position to combat it.
How to use the platform
1. Click on www.ecrime.ae
2. Answer the question: Is the report submitted related to the internet or cyberspace? (Email, social media, internet calls, cybercrime, hacking, blackmail)
3. Choose the complaint type: Personal, private entity, local government entity or federal entity
4. Submit your Emirates ID electronically
5. Submit your address, mobile number and email address
6. The platform will text you a verification code to your mobile phone which you then enter on the platform
7. Enter the complaint details and submit
Source: www.ecrime.ae
