Trio in Ras Al Khaimah accused of stealing Dh1 million in email hacking scam

Ras Al Khaimah Police have arrested three people suspected of hacking into a company's emails to steal more than Dh1 million ($270,300).

The force said the group gained access to messages between the business and one of its suppliers about a planned transaction to divert the sum into a bank account they set up.

The gang are alleged to have created an email address similar to that of the company's supplier to carry out the fraud.

They duped the unnamed company into routing their payment after claiming that the original account details had changed, police said.

The company alerted police after their supplier did not receive the Dh1.077 million payment.

The Ras Al Khaimah team worked with officers at Dubai Police to apprehend the gang after they were traced to the emirate.

“A special task force was formed to collect evidence and trace the perpetrators,” said Brig Tariq bin Saif, deputy director general of police operations at RAK Police.

The trio's bank account contained millions of dirhams, the origin of which is unknown, police said.

“Business owners and the general public must exercise extreme caution when initiating bank transfers,” said Brig bin Saif.

“Always confirm the identity of companies’ representatives via telephone or face-to-face meetings before executing any financial transactions.”

Last month, the force arrested a seven-member gang suspected of a sophisticated online scam that swindled people out of money.

The group were already believed to have defrauded one person of Dh120,000 after convincing him to disclose sensitive financial information. Police suspect there were other victims across the UAE.