Dubai resident loses Dh45,000 inheritance from late father in phishing fraud

Timna Sophia lost the money after she gave her 16-digit debit card number and card verification code to swindler

Timna Sophia lost Dh45,000 left by her late father to online fraudsters. Courtesy: Timna Sophia

A Dubai resident who lost Dh45,000 that she inherited from her late father has warned others about the dangers of falling victim to online fraudsters.

Timna Sophia, 32, said she was shocked at how convincing and professional the criminals were at extracting personal details from her.

After a lengthy phone call on April 10 with a man claiming to be from Commercial Bank of Dubai, the scammers siphoned two tranches of cash from her account within minutes.

The first sum of Dh25,000 was transferred to another account at the same bank. Moments later Dh20,000, was transferred to a Mashreq Bank account and withdrawn from an ATM.

"I've been left feeling so vulnerable. This money was inheritance that my father left me," she told The National.

“He passed away on July 26 from cancer and I arrived in Germany just one day later, on July 27, to say my goodbyes. I was too late.

“I was unable to see him before he died because of global lockdown measures and my residence visa had also run out.”

Ms Sophia, a nanny from Germany, said while the crime has left her out of pocket, she now feels angry at herself for not catching on to the scam sooner.

The man called from a UAE mobile number and was "well spoken with good English." He spent more than one hour on the phone with Ms Sophia and sent several SMS messages to authenticate his claims of being a bank worker, including a verification code from a number made to appear as "Dubai Police".

During the call, she handed over her 16-digit debit card number and CVV code, the three digit security number on the back of the card.

“Before the call, I received a text message from a courier saying a package was going to be delivered later that day,” she said.

“Soon after, my phone rang and it was a man claiming to be from the bank. He knew all my details, including my full name and Emirates ID number.

He told her the bank was sending out a new debit card to her home address, as it was updating its systems due to changes prompted by the pandemic.

“He said my card was no longer valid and a more secure one would be with me later that day," she said.

"When I got the verification code from what I thought was a legitimate Dubai Police number, I felt comfortable to proceed.”

At the end of the call, the fraudster managed to convince Ms Sophia to hand over her user name for online banking too, but not her password.

He then told her to refrain from logging into her account for a few hours, which is when her suspicions creeped in.

“I texted my mum and told her what was happening and she immediately told me it was a scam,” she said.

When Ms Sophia logged into her account, she could see a man had added himself as a beneficiary and withdrew Dh25,000.

“I was still on the phone with the man claiming to be from the bank and I got angry and asked him where had my money gone,” she said.

The man tried to pacify her by saying they had set up a new account and the money was being transferred into that account.

Seconds later, the Dh20,000 vanished from her account and was listed as a transfer for “medical purposes”. Shortly after, Ms Sophia hung up the phone and reported the incident to Dubai Police.

Nearly two weeks on, authorities are investigating.

“[The bank] told me that I willingly gave out my details and it was being investigated by the fraud department,” she said.

“I find it suspicious that the money was sent to another CBD account, but I have to wait and see what comes of the investigation."

Many people were asking why she fell for the scam, Ms Sophia said, "but it is such a psychological game they play".

“These criminals are so sophisticated, it’s really quite concerning and now I have become so vigilant when using my card in public. These people can ruin peoples’ lives.”

How to spot a job scam? - in pictures