Fraud gangs are luring university students through fake job advertisements, exploiting their need to work to cover study costs, before using the students' bank accounts to funnel money obtained through cybercrimes.
Major Saud Abdul Rahman Rafi Al Khazraji, Head of the Financial Tracking Centre at the Anti-Fraud Centre in the General Department of Criminal Investigation at Dubai Police, says a large number of reports have revealed that students have fallen victim to this pattern of fraud after accepting offers that asked them to open bank accounts in their own names, receive funds, and then transfer them according to specific instructions in exchange for a percentage of the money.
He said a review of data showed that the beneficiaries of the proceeds of crime belonged to a specific age group, the majority of them students, noting that Dubai Police interviewed a number of them and asked about the funds arriving in their accounts. The students confirmed they had seen job advertisements asking them to open accounts in their names, with money to be sent to them which they would then transfer. He added that investigations led to the identification of these gangs' hideouts, and also helped raise awareness among a large segment of students, locate these hubs, and apprehend those involved — even some who were outside the country.
He also touched on a traditional fraud method that claimed an elderly victim who had formed a relationship with individuals of a particular nationality. They deceived him into believing they would help him obtain abundant wealth, money, and success, before it became clear that the entire affair was nothing more than fraudulent activity aimed at taking money from him.
He explained that the information reached Dubai Police through one of the victim's sons, who was walked through the fraudulent method and shown real-life examples that convinced him of the true nature of what his father was experiencing. Police then requested his cooperation to apprehend the individuals, coordinated with him, and arrested the gang.
Al Khazraji recounted what he described as a "painful" story involving a person who received a call from a party claiming to be his bank, informing him that a system update required the funds in his account to be transferred to another account. The fraudsters exploited the fact that the bank had actually carried out an update to its app, redesigned its corporate identity, and added new services.
He explained that the victim was initially sceptical, insisting to the callers that his account was the same and that what they were asking made no sense. However, the fraudsters pressured him, warning that his account would be frozen. Because he had financial obligations, he was convinced and followed their instructions step by step until he added a new account, after which the full amount of a loan he had obtained was seized and dispersed across a large number of accounts.
He added that the fraudsters learned of the loan through random contact with the victim, asking whether he was interested in any financial service or facility. He mistakenly mentioned that he did not need any such facility because he had already received a loan — and at that point the fraud operation began. The information was passed to the group's leader, who exploited the new app update to transfer the funds from his account to another.
He confirmed that the victim's immediate contact with Dubai Police helped follow up on the case and recover part of the amount, urging anyone who is certain they have fallen victim to electronic fraud to report it quickly via the Dubai Police "eCrime" app or by calling 901 for enquiries, and to notify their bank immediately.
Al Khazraji said: "Modern fraud crimes change in their methods, while the objective remains the same," noting that Dubai Police has developed mechanisms to deal with them by establishing the Anti-Fraud Centre. Previously, the approach to combating such crimes was distributed across different departments before being consolidated into a single centre, supported by capabilities, expertise, and systems capable of data analysis and taking both preventive and enforcement measures.
He explained that fraud methods are no longer limited to personal meetings, contracts, fake documents, and quick-profit enticements, as gangs now make use of fake and experimental platforms and applications, taking advantage of some individuals' limited awareness of the differences between licensed trading platforms and others. He noted that the centre includes specialised departments to combat fake investment, digital fraud, and cybercrimes in all their forms, including phone calls and messages in which fraudsters impersonate official bodies or well-known institutions.
He pointed out that an electronic fraud crime may begin with a job advertisement, a cheap product, or a fake link for submitting a complaint. Fraudsters create pages resembling official entities and ask the victim to enter their details, or they move the conversation to applications such as WhatsApp to complete the negotiation and transfer of funds, after which the excuses begin once the money has been received. He affirmed that fake job offers and seasonal discounts are among the most prominent entry points exploited by fraudsters.
He warned of the pressure and intimidation tactics used by fraudsters to convince victims that the caller is an official or banking authority, by impersonating a public service employee or police officer and requesting login credentials for bank accounts, digital IDs, credit card details, or authorisation codes. He stressed that government and private entities do not request such information, and that it constitutes sensitive data that must not be shared with anyone.
He also addressed deepfake technology, explaining that a fraudster may conduct a video or phone call impersonating an official and request that financial or administrative instructions be carried out in a sharp tone. He urged people to focus on facial features, lip movement, blinking patterns, and any distortions in the footage, and to ask verification questions before proceeding with any action. He also cautioned against sharing personal photos and voice recordings or uploading them to applications that may subsequently exploit them to produce fabricated clips.
He flagged fake domestic worker recruitment websites, urging people to deal only with accredited and licensed offices and not to be swayed by attractive offers on social media platforms. He also warned against fake investment schemes based on promises of quick gains and large returns within a short period, stressing the need to verify the company's licence and activity, review contracts, and invest only through official entities.
Al Khazraji affirmed that Dubai Police relies in combating these crimes on analysing reports and data, understanding deception methods, and classifying complaints, before apprehending those involved once sufficient evidence and indicators are available and referring them to the public prosecution. He stressed the importance of verifying links and official sources, and never sharing any codes, passwords, or sensitive data with anyone.