Saudi Arabia: 6 held for duping people with fake ads

Abu Dhabi: Six men — five Saudis and a Syrian — were arrested for allegedly duping people after posting fake advertisements on social media, police said on Monday.

“The suspects committed three crimes using the same modus operandi. Their line of business was publishing fake advertisements on social media platforms to sell products at low prices, luring their victims, and robbing their money,” said Major Khalid Al Kreidis, spokesperson of the Riyadh Police.

He added the men were caught in possession of counterfeit banknotes, and stolen goods with a value of 16,000 riyals.

They were remanded in custody pending moving to the Public Prosecution for trial, police said.

According to Gallup, one in four Americans is a victim of cybercrime each year, from relationship scams to fake IT support to Ponzi schemes to phishing.