IT Used on 70% of Crimes in Abu Dhabi
Photo: Luca & Vita
Crimes committed with the use of IT account for about 70 percent of all illegal activity in Abu Dhabi, according to a new report cited by GulfNews.
Addressing interrogators, judges and law students, Maj. Saeed Mohammad Al Hajeri, lead of the Information Technology Crime Department of Dubai Police, said recent studies show that cyber criminals keep up with new developments in IT.
Delivering a lecture at the Institute of Training and Judicial Studies in Sharjah, Al Hajeri said any new software or system usually comes with flaws and other shortcomings, and criminals take advantage of that.
Among the most common crimes is providing illegal VoIP calls–the preferred method of communication for drug smugglers and human traffickers, as these calls are hard to trace, he explained.
Al Hajeri also highlighted cyber blackmail, the practice of using a security flaw to hack into someone’s email and use his or her personal information to either blackmail them or damage their reputation through emails, social networking sites and web forums.
The major also noted other scams plaguing the United Arab Emirates, including lottery schemes and charity fraud. In one recent case, a scammer spoofed a local hospital’s website and asked website visitors to donate money for charity, which many did, Al Hajeri said.