ME Newswire
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - Saturday, August 24th 2013
The Abu Dhabi Police uncovered an international gang that uses clips and scenes from archived sexual videos and a female voiceover to lure male victims in front of webcams and record them while they participate in indecent behavior. The victims would be filmed without their knowledge; the gang would then extort 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), warned the public against falling prey to cyber fraud and extortion; this warning is part of an awareness-raising initiative to combat cybercrimes. The program is launched by the Abu Dhabi Police. Colonel Dr. Borshid pointed out that the said gang worked on threatening some users of social networking sites by using revealing sexual shots recorded after being lured by beautiful girls showing their bodies, requesting the victims to pose in unacceptable ways. The recorded videos are archived reproduction scenes that have nothing to do with the bandits.
According to Colonel Dr. Borshid, the Abu Dhabi Police has received a number of complaints from victims who were involved in communicating with this gang, which is based out of the country. The gang extorted money from them after downloading the short videos and posting them on a free site. This compelled the victims to give them money in order to withdraw those videos from the Internet.
“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.
Furthermore, Colonel Dr. Borshid stressed the risk of involvement with the gang, which targets Gulf countries. He called on the public to not trust strangers or emails sent from suspicious sites, which lure them into fake intimate romantic relationships and lead them into prohibited acts.
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.
On the same note, he urged the victims not to succumb to threats of this gang, which will continue to deplete their savings. He also affirmed that the gangs could penetrate the accounts of victims themselves, or through their friends and participants of those accounts to lure them into falling into forbidden acts.
“The cybercrimes rate in Abu Dhabi is still limited compared to many cities around the world. Most of them are still at safe levels and do not represent a dangerous issue. 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,” affirmed Colonel Dr. Borshid.
He noted that specialized police teams at the cybercrimes branch of the CID receive notifications and browse websites to identify and locate suspects. Moreover, he added that the Abu Dhabi Police has a forensic laboratory to examine electronic evidence.
As for the way to reach the international gang that blackmails its victims, he explained that it is a difficult matter, given the presence of the gang outside the country, but it's not impossible. The Abu Dhabi Police is coordinating and passing the information to security authorities in countries that have such kind of crimes, in order to restrict the movements of members of those gangs and arrest them, protecting people from this evil.
A Female Victim in her Forties
Lieutenant Colonel Taher Al Dhaheri, Head of Organized Crime in 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 a sexual extortion ring who hacked into her electronic account with another (intermediate) man.
AED 10,000 to Withdraw a Video Clip
Lieutenant Colonel Taher Al Dhaheri, Head of the Organized Crime Department, revealed that the gang had drained the savings of some victims. It is noteworthy that one of the victims, a Gulf national, sent frequent money transfers outside the State, totaling to AED 10,000, to withdraw a video clip showing him in scenes of a sexual nature, before contacting the Abu Dhabi Police.
An Architect, Victim of the Gang
Lieutenant Colonel Taher Al Dhaheri, Head of the Organized Crime Department 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 years. He justified his involvement in such sexual behaviors because his wife resides in their native country.
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Photo Captions:
Photo 1: Colonel Dr. Rashid Mohammed Borshid
Photo 2: Lieutenant Colonel Taher Al Dhaheri
Photo 3: A graphic showing an operation for hunting a victim
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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