Abu Dhabi court orders repayment of Dh168,700 stolen in bank impersonation fraud

An Abu Dhabi court has ordered two fraudsters to repay Dh168,700 to a victim who was deceived through a sophisticated impersonation scheme. The victim, who was attempting to rent an apartment, received fraudulent emails that appeared to be from a bank employee requesting reservation and registration fees.

Investigations revealed that the scammers had hacked a leasing company’s email account to facilitate the fraud. Following a criminal conviction, the defendants were sentenced to one year in prison and deportation. The civil court, bound by the criminal findings, ruled that the stolen funds must be returned to the plaintiff.