Bank to pay customer Dh4.6m after hackers withdrew all his money

dubai — A Dubai commercial court order for a bank to repay a customer Dh4.5 million has been upheld by the Dubai Court of Appeals. The amount is worth the balance siphoned off from his account.

In October last year, the Dubai Commercial Court found the bank responsible for the losses incurred by the complainant and ordered it to deposit the amount back into his account.

Ghassan El Daye, partner and head of litigation Middle East for UK-based law firm Charles Russel Speechlys, said the case dates back to 2017 when their client, who once lived and worked in the UAE, was unable to withdraw cash because of insufficient funds.

“Our client had come back to the UAE for a visit in May 2017 only to discover his account was empty,” said El Daye. The legal team recommended a civil lawsuit for the bank customer to get his money back.

The bank appealed the court’s verdict after being ordered to pay the complainant Dh4,677,596, which includes his money and an additional Dh100,000 in compensation with a nine per cent interest to be paid from the date the case was filed.

The embezzlements took place through a SIM card swap fraud. The fraudsters impersonated the account-holder and applied at a telecom services provider for a replacement SIM card on his behalf.

Then, they contacted the bank and managed to have a new PIN code, through which they siphoned off a total of Dh4.5 million from the plaintiff ’s account.

The appellate court appointed experts, who held the bank responsible for the customer’s loss due to a lack of technical protection of his confidential data and lapses in implementing safe electronic procedures and investigations.