Dubai Police have taken down a fraud syndicate accused of deceiving multiple vehicle owners by posing as buyers on a popular online sales platform and paying with forged cheques.
The suspects orchestrated a sophisticated scheme in which one member contacted vehicle sellers to agree on a purchase while another impersonated a company representative to finalise the transfer of ownership and deliver a forged cheque.
Once the transaction was completed, the vehicle was immediately exported outside the country using documents registered by the new, fraudulently acquired, owner.
Dubai Police bust suspected fraud syndicate
The Criminal Investigation Department’s Anti-Fraud Centre received reports of similar incidents, revealing that the gang operated inside and outside the UAE.
The suspects selected high-value vehicles listed for sale online and posed as representatives of reputable institutions to gain the victims’ trust.
They would send an associate to inspect the car at the seller’s residence and then arrange for the final transaction to take place late at night at a vehicle registration branch, creating a false sense of urgency and credibility.
Following the transfer of ownership, the criminal posing as the buyer would use a copy of the newly registered owner’s passport to ship the vehicle abroad the same night.
The fraud would only come to light when the victim attempted to cash the cheque and discovered it was forged.
Dubai Police urge members of the public to adopt necessary safety precautions when selling vehicles, including verifying cheque authenticity with banks and insisting on receiving full payment in cash before signing over ownership.
Community members are also urged to report fraud via the nearest police station and cyber fraud to the Dubai Police eCrime platform or via the Dubai Police smart app.
