Dubai Man Loses Dh800,000 Loan in Fake Banking App Scam

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Dubai: A Dubai citizen lost the full Dh800,000 bank loan he obtained after being tricked into installing a fake banking app and being given remote access to his mobile phone by fraudsters acting as bank officials, according to Dubai Police.

The police said that, the victim received a phone call from someone pretending to be from his bank and providing financial services such as loans and credit cards. Despite declining the offers, he admitted that he had recently obtained a loan, which the scammers then used to target him.

The scammers then contacted him again, saying the bank had renamed its services and created a new app. They warned that if he didn't download the app and move his money to an account connected to the new app, his account may be frozen.

The victim granted remote access to his device and installed the application under stress. After getting his financial details, the con artists removed the full loan amount from his account. The stolen money was transferred between several bank accounts, according to investigators, to complicate recovery and tracing.

The case, according to Major Saud Abdulrahman Al Khazraji of Dubai Police's General Department of Criminal Investigation, stresses the dangers associated with disclosing financial information to unknown individuals and installing applications at their request.

Residents were instructed by Dubai Police to confirm any banking demands immediately with their bank through official channels and to never share banking information, loan details, card numbers, passwords, or one-time passwords. It is recommended that victims of cyber fraud use official police reporting sites to report incidents right away.