‘Mr Cash’ in the net

The Sharjah Police on Thursday arrested a man nicknamed ‘Mister Cash’ who offered shopkeepers a percentage as commission if they swiped forged credit cards and gave him cash.

The Nigerian suspect identified as A. R. Adekanye received the forged cards from abroad.

“The suspect carefully chose shops and convinced vendors to allow him to swipe his credit cards in exchange for cash, promising them a cut,” said an officer of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

“A number of shopkeepers and accountants acquiesced to the suspect’s request and were unaware that the police were monitoring their move.”

The tech-crime department of the CID then chalked out a plan to catch the suspect red-handed. When he was about to swipe the card at a shop, officers in plainclothes asked him to show his identification documents and the credit card.

The credit card in question was found to be a stolen one: the serial number was changed though the owner’s name remained at it was. In the course of investigation, the cops found out that all credit cards he had with him were stolen. On raiding his house, the police found several more credit cards, forged mobile phone SIM cards and laptops. The suspect is unemployed but has a valid residency visa.

The case has been transferred to the Sharjah Public Prosecution.

The police are interrogating the shopkeepers who cooperated with the suspect in the crime.

The police urged the shop owners to exercise caution if a customer requests to swipe a credit card and give him/her cash. “Always ask for the person’s valid identification documents to verify that the credit card belongs to him/her.”

afkarali@khaleejtimes.com