Muscat – Citizens and residents were warned against sharing personal information, especially bank details, on their cellphones.
The number of complaints reporting electronic fraud cases continues to increase despite extensive campaigns carried out by law enforcement agencies.
The latest issue of ‘Society and Law’ states that in one case, two Asian expats contacted a man by phone claiming they were working for a telecom company.
They told him he had won a cash prize of RO 20,000 and asked for his personal details for verification.
The unsuspecting victim shared vital information, including his civil ID number and name of the bank.
He was also asked to share account details for the transfer of prize money. Having obtained crucial information, the accused managed to divert RO 5,000 from the victim's account.
The victim was shocked to receive a message that said money had been withdrawn from his account.
As he was unable to contact the accused, he realised he had been conned. He filed a complaint with the authorities and closed his bank account.
The Royal Oman Police (ROP) arrested the accused posed as bank officials and told people their debit/credit cards will be blocked if they do not open the link in the email sent to them.
The police urged people to ignore messages/calls seeking bank details. They urged caution over messages announcing cash prizes.