Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates - Saturday, August 9th 2014 [ME NewsWire]
The Abu Dhabi Police warned community members against falling prey to “indecent” cyber scams, despite the repeated precautionary awareness efforts. ADP also noted that international gangs resort to webcam blackmail to record any online interaction with the victim and threaten to make the video public unless money is paid.
Colonel Dr. Rashid Mohammad Borshid, Head of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), informed that the Organized Crime Section at the Department has logged as many as 33 cyber blackmail cases during the first half of this year. Most cases involve footage of the victims in an indecent situation after being lured into the trap.
Colonel Dr. Borshid also explained that these gangs explicitly target young people via social networking sites from outside the UAE. They would attempt to lead them into participating in intimate, sexual activity, which can later be used to blackmail them, by threatening them with the exposure of photos or videos obtained, and gaining access to their personal files and data.
Additionally, Colonel Dr. Borshid stressed that the scammers may threaten to send the compromising pictures or video footage to the victims’ friends, colleagues or family, or post it to the social networking sites used by them, unless money is paid. This would put the unsuspecting victims’ reputation at the mercy of cyber criminals, who lured them into this embarrassing situation, and forced them to pay up out of fear of a social scandal.
“The victims have brought this on themselves by allowing such interactions to become intimate and they wouldn’t have been able to escape these “indecent” scams without the police’s help,” indicated Colonel Dr. Borshid. He added, “The police are constantly on the lookout for these criminals, in cooperation with relevant competent authorities worldwide to protect individuals against such threats. They also provide help in removing the photos or videos uploaded to a sharing website, in coordination with the concerned entities.”
Elaborating on the details of such scams, Colonel Dr. Borshid explained that international gangs use pre-recorded webcam footage to disguise their identity while appearing to be genuinely engaged in conversation; in order "to appear legitimate”. They would attempt to lead the victims into participating in intimate, sexual activity, which they record without their knowledge. He also explained that such gangs would never engage in a voice chat during these interactions, to avoid being caught.
Colonel Dr. Borshid also added, “The scammers threaten to send the compromising pictures or video footage of you to the victims’ friends, colleagues or family, or post it to the social networking sites, unless huge amounts of money are paid through offshore bank accounts.
He also called upon the public to not engage with strangers who may attempt to lure them to private chat rooms where interaction may become intimate and involve indecent behaviors via a video chat.
Colonel Dr. Borshid urged the public to quickly report such scams, to allow timely response from the police, which would conduct it’s a specific search and investigation operation in order to nab the culprits.
He emphasized the importance of raising awareness and promoting societal collaboration in curtailing cybercrimes. He also stressed the need to not succumb to these threats and refuse to pay the sums of money demanded, as scammers will keep on blackmailing them once they realize the victim is cooperative. He also noted that specialized police teams at the Cybercrime Branch at the CID are adamant on tracking down suspects as soon as they receive the complaint.
The Abu Dhabi Police has warned the public through its ongoing awareness campaigns and news against being falling prey to webcam cyber blackmail crimes. The police also urged them not to disclose their personal information or trust strangers to avoid exploitation, blackmail, or theft of their money. The police also stressed the importance of parental supervision whenever children go online through PCs or smart phones, in order to report any breaches of the law.
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The Arabic-language text of this announcement is the official, authoritative version. Translations are provided as an accommodation only, and should be cross-referenced with the Arabic-language text, which is the only version of the text intended to have legal effect.
Contacts
The UAE Minister of Interior's General Secretariat, Tactical Affairs and Security Media Department
Abu Dhabi Police GHQ - Security Media
Chris Cron +971-(0)-50-987-1317
E-mail: cron.media@hotmail.com
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