Fake ‘Official’ Phone Call Scam Ends in Court-Ordered Repayment

A court in Al Dhafra has ordered two men to repay Dh40,909 to a woman after she was deceived into transferring her savings in a phone scam, in which one of the defendants impersonated an employee of a government-related body.

The Al Dhafra Court of First Instance also awarded Dh4,090 in compensation, holding the men civilly liable for the fraud. Court records show that the victim had sought damages for the moral and emotional harm she suffered as a result of the scam.

According to reports, one of the men contacted the woman by phone, falsely claiming to represent an official authority and referring to a complaint she had previously filed. He persuaded her to install a mobile application and transfer her money to several bank accounts. The woman realised she had been defrauded only after completing the transactions.

The defendants had earlier been convicted in a criminal case of unlawfully obtaining money from an illicit source and were sentenced to three months’ imprisonment, suspended, along with deportation orders. As no appeal was filed, the criminal judgment became final.

In its civil ruling, the court noted that none of the stolen funds had been returned and ordered the men, jointly, to repay the victim in full, covering the financial loss she had incurred.