Dubai Police have arrested six people accused of running a fake online shopping website to defraud shoppers of their bank card details. According to the General Department of Criminal Investigation, the gang built a site designed to closely resemble a genuine online store in order to collect victims' card information.
Once they had the card details, the suspects allegedly made unauthorised purchases without the cardholders' knowledge and transferred the stolen funds into digital wallets. Police said some of the stolen card data was also sold on to other fraudsters.
One victim, a private company employee, told investigators she was asleep and not using her phone at the time her account was drained. "I wasn't even using my phone or making any purchases. I was fast asleep while someone unknown was draining my account," she said, describing how she discovered large unauthorised withdrawals.
The arrests followed a wider investigation launched after Dubai Police received multiple complaints from victims of the scheme. Investigators traced the operation back to the six suspects now in custody.
Police renewed their warning to residents to check a website's authenticity and exact web address before entering payment details, and to avoid using bank cards on unfamiliar or suspicious shopping sites. Authorities said tackling this type of online fraud remains a priority, and urged anyone who has fallen victim to a similar scam to report it immediately through official police channels.