UAE YOUTH IN 'HONEY TRAPS' VIA DATING SITES

By Staff/Wam

Abu Dhabi Police have issued a warning about electronic blackmail traps from dating sites that are targeting young people in the UAE. According to the statement from the Ministry of Interior, international gangs are behind the traps and once a person falls for the scam, video clips enable the criminals to blackmail the victims. According to Colonel Dr Rashid Mohammad Bu Rasheed, Director, Department of Criminal Investigation, Organised Crime, 33 complaints of blackmail have been received in the first six months of this year. Most involved videos of the victims in inappropriate situations. He said that the gang, from outside the UAE, specifically targeted young people with the threat of publishing their private videos on social networking sites. Colonel Dr Rashid Mohammad Bu Rasheed said the police continue to search for such criminals and keep track of their activity in coordination with the competent authorities, as well as blocking sites involved. He adds that the gang is careful not to talk online evading any voice recording system. Once they have convinced the victim to send a compromising video, the gang begins extorting the victim. The Abu Dhabi Police has warned the public about falling victim to fraud and extortion online and urged them not to disclose personal information online.

The Abu Dhabi Police have exposed an international gang that uses clips and scenes from archived sexual videos and a female voice-over to lure male victims in front of webcams and record them while they participate in indecent behaviour. The victim is filmed without their knowledge and the gang then extorts money from them in exchange for not publishing those webcam shots on the internet. Colonel Dr Rashid Mohammed Borshid, Head of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), has warned the public against falling prey to cyber fraud and extortion. As part of an awareness drive launched by the Abu Dhabi Police to combat cybercrimes, Colonel Dr Borshid pointed out that the said gang worked on threatening some users of social networking sites by using revealing compromising recordings of the victims. According to Colonel Dr Borshid, the Abu Dhabi Police received a number of complaints from victims targeted by this gang.

          “The gang specifically targets young people, particularly males. It communicates with them via electronic applications on computers using some social media sites, including Skype. “They use aliases for the girls who lure them through dubbed voices to film the male victims in sexually revealing positions. The gang then uses those recorded videos to blackmail and threaten the victims, in exchange for sums of money transferred to accounts outside the country,” explained Colonel Dr Borshid. Lieutenant Colonel Taher Al Dhaheri, Head of Organised Crime at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), revealed that the gang's victims are not only males. A forty-year old Arab woman complained about being drawn into sexual scenes with a gangster, who alleged to be an influential well-known community figure. He told her he would employ her in a private company. She discovered later on that he is a member of an extortion ring who hacked into her electronic account.

Lieutenant Colonel Taher Al Dhaheri, Head of the Organised Crime, revealed that the gang had drained the savings of some victims. One of the victims, a Gulf national, sent frequent money transfers outside the UAE, totalling to Dh10,000, to withdraw a video clip showing him in scenes of a sexual nature, before contacting the Abu Dhabi Police. Lieutenant Colonel Taher Al Dhaheri, Head of the Organised Crime indicated that an Arab architect filed a complaint in which he said that he had been lured by the gang into sexual scenes. “The architect also pointed out that he is married and has several children, the eldest aged 18. Colonel Dr Borshid called on the public not to trust strangers or emails sent from suspicious sites, which lure them into fake intimate, romantic relationships. He also indicated that users of social networking sites reveal too many personal details while chatting with strangers, which makes them easy targets for hackers who steal their files and download their pictures and videos to blackmail and extort money. “The cybercrimes rate in Abu Dhabi is still limited compared to many cities around the world. “Nevertheless, it is a scourge that must be curtailed through concerted efforts with community members. “It is vitally important to notify the police when any individual falls prey to cybercrime in order to ensure the proper search and investigation operations can be carried out. This would lead to the quick identification and arrest of offenders,” Colonel Dr Borshid says. He added that specialised police teams at the cybercrime branch of the CID receive notifications and browse websites to identify and locate suspects. The Abu Dhabi Police has a forensic laboratory to examine electronic evidence. The Abu Dhabi Police is coordinating and passing the information to security authorities in countries that have such kinds of gangs operating.