Seven Pakistanis have been arrested in Sharjah and Dubai for allegedly stealing credit card data and offering 50% discount to customers on bill payments.
Explaining the modus operandi of the gang, Director of Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Sharjah Mussbah Al Ajill told the Khaleej Times that they would hunt for potential clients and offer them 50% discount on their bills. The criminals would then allegedly use the stolen credit card data to make full payment and charge 50% from their customers.
“For instance, if someone had a mobile phone bill of Dh1,000, the suspects would charge just Dh500 to make the payment in full,” said Al Ajill, adding that the alleged criminals also used the stolen details to make online purchases.
The arrests were made after one of the victims became aware of the unsolicited payments made using his credit card after receiving a SMS notification from his bank and lodged a police complaint against unknown persons.
Later, one of the suspects was identified by a team of CID officers during the course of investigation. He was arrested, and led the police to the arrest of the other suspects.
Reportedly, the gang members confessed before the police that they had made a deal with someone based outside the UAE, who would provide them stolen bank data to make online purchases.
Five of the suspects were arrested by CID Sharjah, while the other two were arrested in Dubai in coordination with the Dubai Police.
