Dh270,000 stolen from bank account using forged passport

Dubai Police have arrested a man and two accomplices for stealing Dh270,000 from a resident’s bank account. The Asian suspect allegedly forged a European resident’s passport to obtain a credit card, which he then used to buy gold jewellery from various stores in the UAE while the victim was on vacation abroad.

Brigadier Yousuf Al Adidi, director of Al Ghusais police station, said the victim alerted police when he received messages from his bank informing him of the jewellery purchases.

“About Dh270,000 was withdrawn from his account. We investigated the matter and found that the suspect forged the victim’s passport and used online banking to get the bank to issue a new card,” Brig. Al Adidi said.

The suspect did this with the help of a bank employee and another suspect. “They had been monitoring the victim and applied for the new card using a fake passport and took advantage of the fact that victim’s mobile phone was switched off because he was outside the country,” Brig. Al Adidi added.

The main suspect was arrested in a neighbouring emirate when he was trying to buy gold jewellery worth Dh800. “The salesman suspected him and called police. We linked him with the card scam and arrested the other two suspects,” Brig. Al Adidi said.

Meanwhile, Al Ghusais police station witnessed a 68 per cent drop in the number of ‘worrying’ crimes this year with 169 crimes compared to 258 crimes in same period last year.

“We are coordinating with other police departments to clear the unsolved crimes and arrest the suspects as part of police strategy to maintain security and safety in society,” Brigadier Al Adidi added.