Trio sends email from colleague's account, steals Dh100,000 in UAE

Abu Dhabi - After a complaint was lodged, the police arrested the three defendants for online fraud.

Three Abu Dhabi expats illegally accessed the work email of their colleague and wrote a mail that helped them siphon off Dh100,000, a court has heard.
The defendants posed as the victim and wrote to their educational institute's human resources department, claiming he was facing some problems with his bank account. They requested the department to transfer his salary to another bank account till he could "sort out the problem with the bank".
They then allegedly withdrew more than Dh100,000 from the new account. It was not clear from the court documents if the amount siphoned off was one month's salary or had other arrears.
After a complaint was lodged, the police arrested the three defendants for online fraud.
Prosecutors said the men had connived in accessing the employee's email and that they had used a bank card of the second defendant to withdraw the salary. The trio was charged with violating online laws, theft and impersonation.
The men, who appeared at the Abu Dhabi Criminal Court of First Instance, denied the charges against them.
One of them said he had been living and working in the country for six years, and that he had never been involved in any crime.
Mohammed Al Buraiki, the lawyer representing the first and second defendants, claimed that there was no evidence against his clients.
The trial was adjourned until September 30.
ismail@khaleejtimes.com

• Abu Dhabi