Man in $10,000 fraud case held in 24 hours
Suspect conned two men by promising to change their money into €500,000 using a special printer
Dubai Police have arrested an African man who conned two people in a black money scam and cheated them out of $10,000 (Dh36,730).
Brigadier Salem Al Rumaithi, director of the General Department of Criminal and Investigation at Dubai Police, said the African suspect had the two victims believe he could change their $10,000 into €500,000 using a special printer.
He said the two men, an Asian and a European, contacted the suspect via email and they agreed to meet in a hotel room in Dubai.
“They [victims] said he put $1,000 in the printer slot and the money was doubled. He asked them to take the doubled money to the exchange house to exchange it into dirhams and the money was found to be real. After he gained their trust, he convinced them he could increase their money,” Brig Al Rumaithi said.
When the victims gave $10,000 to the suspect to transform it to €500,000, he vanished and switched off his phone.
Lt-Col Omar Mohammad Bin Hamad, deputy director of the Anti-Economic Crime Department at Dubai Police, said it was the first scam operation by the suspect and he was arrested within 24 hours.
“We identified the suspect and his location. He was living alone in an apartment in a neighbouring emirate. We arrested him and seized the printer and found fake dollar and euro bills supposedly worth millions,” Lt-Col Bin Hamad added.
The suspect confessed that he was using the printer to con people into believing he could double the money. He said a friend gave it to him and he modified the printer to make it print money in front of the victims.
How he did it
Police said the suspect possessed fake bills, about $10 million and €500,000, and he used to put real money inside the printer to con his victims. Police said the suspect was staying illegally in the country and was referred to Dubai Public Prosecution to complete the investigation.
Lt-Col Bin Hamad urged residents not to be fooled in money-doubling scams and call police immediately, or go to the nearest police station, if contacted by such people.
“Despite repeated warnings about this scam, some people still get conned and give their money to con men. Our efforts have helped reduce the rate of such kind of crimes,” he said.