Bahrain Court Announces Three-Year Sentence for Scammer
The High Criminal Appeals Court affirmed a three-year prison sentence for an individual who participated in a fraudulent scheme.
The scheme involved deceiving an individual into providing personal information and resulted in the misappropriation of BD1,000.
The victim received a text message requesting them to update their banking information through an electronic link. Upon opening the link, the victim was prompted to enter his bank card details.
Subsequently, he received another message instructing him to click on a link and enter specific numbers to safeguard his data. Unknown to the victim, this allowed the fraudsters to gain access to his secret codes.
Shortly after, the victim received a notification of a BD1,000 withdrawal from his bank account, only to realise that he had fallen victim to a fraudulent operation. The incident was promptly reported to the Electronic Crimes Unit for further investigation.
Valuable information During the investigation, valuable information was obtained from an electronic financial transactions company, which helped track the misappropriated amount.
It was discovered that the funds were eventually transferred to an individual who received the money at a financial exchange outlet before carrying out an overseas transfer.
The suspect was identified and apprehended with the aid of security camera footage.
Further investigations revealed that the individual, along with an unidentified accomplice residing outside Bahrain, targeted victims abroad in fraudulent activities, offering to transfer funds in exchange for commissions.
The Public Prosecution charged the individual with conspiracy and aiding an unknown individual in unlawfully utilising the victim’s electronic signature to carry out the unauthorised withdrawal.
The evidence presented demonstrated the individual’s involvement in the fraudulent scheme, as well as the participation of other unidentified individuals who played a role in obtaining the victim’s cash holdings through deceptive means and the use of technology.
