A Dubai resident who lost Dh45,000 that she inherited from her late father has warned others about the dangers of falling victim to online fraudsters.
Timna Sophia, 32, said she was shocked at how convincing and professional the criminals were at extracting personal details from her.
After a lengthy phone call on April 10 with a man claiming to be from Commercial Bank of Dubai, the scammers siphoned two tranches of cash from her account within minutes.
When I logged into my account, I could see a man had added himself as a beneficiary and withdrew Dh25,000
The first sum of Dh25,000 was transferred to another account at the same bank. Moments later Dh20,000, was transferred to a Mashreq Bank account and withdrawn from an ATM.
"I've been left feeling so vulnerable. This money was inheritance that my father left me," she told The National.
“He passed away on July 26 from cancer and I arrived in Germany just one day later, on July 27, to say my goodbyes. I was too late.
“I was unable to see him before he died because of global lockdown measures and my residence visa had also run out.”
Ms Sophia, a nanny from Germany, said while the crime has left her out of pocket, she now feels angry at herself for not catching on to the scam sooner.
The man called from a UAE mobile number and was "well spoken with good English." He spent more than one hour on the phone with Ms Sophia and sent several SMS messages to authenticate his claims of being a bank worker, including a verification code from a number made to appear as "Dubai Police".
During the call, she handed over her 16-digit debit card number and CVV code, the three digit security number on the back of the card.
“Before the call, I received a text message from a courier saying a package was going to be delivered later that day,” she said.
“Soon after, my phone rang and it was a man claiming to be from the bank. He knew all my details, including my full name and Emirates ID number.
He told her the bank was sending out a new debit card to her home address, as it was updating its systems due to changes prompted by the pandemic.
“He said my card was no longer valid and a more secure one would be with me later that day," she said.
"When I got the verification code from what I thought was a legitimate Dubai Police number, I felt comfortable to proceed.”
At the end of the call, the fraudster managed to convince Ms Sophia to hand over her user name for online banking too, but not her password.
He then told her to refrain from logging into her account for a few hours, which is when her suspicions creeped in.
“I texted my mum and told her what was happening and she immediately told me it was a scam,” she said.
When Ms Sophia logged into her account, she could see a man had added himself as a beneficiary and withdrew Dh25,000.
“I was still on the phone with the man claiming to be from the bank and I got angry and asked him where had my money gone,” she said.
The man tried to pacify her by saying they had set up a new account and the money was being transferred into that account.
Seconds later, the Dh20,000 vanished from her account and was listed as a transfer for “medical purposes”. Shortly after, Ms Sophia hung up the phone and reported the incident to Dubai Police.
Nearly two weeks on, authorities are investigating.
“[The bank] told me that I willingly gave out my details and it was being investigated by the fraud department,” she said.
“I find it suspicious that the money was sent to another CBD account, but I have to wait and see what comes of the investigation."
Many people were asking why she fell for the scam, Ms Sophia said, "but it is such a psychological game they play".
“These criminals are so sophisticated, it’s really quite concerning and now I have become so vigilant when using my card in public. These people can ruin peoples’ lives.”
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MATCH INFO
Pakistan 106-8 (20 ovs)
Iftikhar 45, Richardson 3-18
Australia 109-0 (11.5 ovs)
Warner 48 no, Finch 52 no
Australia win series 2-0
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
RESULT
Kolkata Knight Riders 169-7 (20 ovs)
Rajasthan Royals 144-4 (20 ovs)
Kolkata win by 25 runs
Next match
Sunrisers Hyderabad v Kolkata Knight Riders, Friday, 5.30pm
The five stages of early child’s play
From Dubai-based clinical psychologist Daniella Salazar:
1. Solitary Play: This is where Infants and toddlers start to play on their own without seeming to notice the people around them. This is the beginning of play.
2. Onlooker play: This occurs where the toddler enjoys watching other people play. There doesn’t necessarily need to be any effort to begin play. They are learning how to imitate behaviours from others. This type of play may also appear in children who are more shy and introverted.
3. Parallel Play: This generally starts when children begin playing side-by-side without any interaction. Even though they aren’t physically interacting they are paying attention to each other. This is the beginning of the desire to be with other children.
4. Associative Play: At around age four or five, children become more interested in each other than in toys and begin to interact more. In this stage children start asking questions and talking about the different activities they are engaging in. They realise they have similar goals in play such as building a tower or playing with cars.
5. Social Play: In this stage children are starting to socialise more. They begin to share ideas and follow certain rules in a game. They slowly learn the definition of teamwork. They get to engage in basic social skills and interests begin to lead social interactions.
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KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN MARITIME DISPUTE
2000: Israel withdraws from Lebanon after nearly 30 years without an officially demarcated border. The UN establishes the Blue Line to act as the frontier.
2007: Lebanon and Cyprus define their respective exclusive economic zones to facilitate oil and gas exploration. Israel uses this to define its EEZ with Cyprus
2011: Lebanon disputes Israeli-proposed line and submits documents to UN showing different EEZ. Cyprus offers to mediate without much progress.
2018: Lebanon signs first offshore oil and gas licencing deal with consortium of France’s Total, Italy’s Eni and Russia’s Novatek.
2018-2019: US seeks to mediate between Israel and Lebanon to prevent clashes over oil and gas resources.
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ICC Awards for 2021
MEN
Cricketer of the Year – Shaheen Afridi (Pakistan)
T20 Cricketer of the Year – Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan)
ODI Cricketer of the Year – Babar Azam (Pakistan)
Test Cricketer of the Year – Joe Root (England)
WOMEN
Cricketer of the Year – Smriti Mandhana (India)
ODI Cricketer of the Year – Lizelle Lee (South Africa)
T20 Cricketer of the Year – Tammy Beaumont (England)
'O'
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
