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Four Asian expats were sentenced yesterday to three years in prison and fined BD5,000 each for committing cyber fraud.
According to the Public Prosecution, the Lower Criminal Court also ordered the men’s deportation upon the completion of their sentences, and the confiscation of the items used in the crimes.
A report it received from the General Directorate of Anti-Corruption and Economic and Electronic Security stated that a company had fallen victim to fraud.
Unknown individuals had impersonated the email address of another company and sent an email containing amended bank account details for the beneficiary.
This led the company to transfer money to the account specified in the email, believing the request to be genuine.
Upon reviewing the electronic correspondence, it was found that the email address used differed from the legitimate address by the addition of a letter to the domain name, with the intention of misleading the company’s employees into believing that the email was genuine, thereby obtaining the funds.
The authorities immediately launched an investigation, questioned one of the defendants and ordered his remand.
They issued arrest warrants for the remaining defendants and took statements from witnesses.
Relevant banking authorities were instructed to disclose the identities of the beneficiaries, and CCTV footage was also retrieved from locations connected to the incident.
The investigators, who traced the movement of the stolen funds, established that the money had been transferred to bank accounts belonging to the defendants.
Security authorities also managed to secure part of the funds involved in the offence and return them to the company.
Digital and forensic evidence, together with the investigations, further established the defendants’ connection to the offence and the role played by each of them in receiving and disposing of the proceeds of the crime.
The Public Prosecution then referred them to the Lower Criminal Court, which issued the judgement.
Authorities reaffirmed the judiciary’s firm approach to combating cyber fraud targeting individuals and institutions and threatening the integrity and security of commercial and financial transactions.
They also reaffirmed their commitment to taking the necessary legal measures to combat cyber fraud and track down those responsible.
Authorities stressed the importance of verifying the authenticity of requests received by email that involve changes to bank account details or payment methods, and of not making any financial transfer until the request has been verified through official and approved channels of communication.
Institutions and individuals have been urged to report immediately any messages or transactions suspected of being unlawful, thereby contributing to the prevention and reduction of such crimes.
They can do so either by calling the directorate’s hotline 992 for urgent reports and scam alerts, contacting the WhatsApp on 17108108, or by sending a direct report on the MyGov app.
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