The Sharjah Police have arrested a hacker who defrauded a company account of Dh2.8 million. Officers arrested him within eight hours of receiving the report from the company.

The acting head of Buhaira Comprehensive Police Station, Lieutenant Colonel Mohammad bin Haider, said the station was informed by a representative of an advertising company in the emirate on August 17 at 3am that the company's account had been hacked and the accused had withdrawn Dh1.1 million.

Hacking of an account

The suspect hacked the company's electronic account and monitored its commercial transactions, Lt Col Bin Haider said. He hatched a criminal plan based on an incoming sum of Dh2.8 million from a company in a Gulf country. He sent that company an “official” e-mail asking them to transfer the amount to another bank account under the false pretence that the receiving company’s account had changed.

A transfer was then made to the "new" account by the Gulf company. Soon afterwards, the suspect withdrew Dh1.1 million out of the total sum before being arrested.

According to Lt Col bin Haider, police investigations revealed that the suspect withdrew cash from seven different banks inside and outside Sharjah.

Consequently, a team from Buhaira police station's investigations and criminal department was formed to track down and arrest the suspect.

Getting caught in the act

Investigations revealed the suspect was at a bank in one of the emirates to withdraw the remaining funds. Accordingly, he was monitored and caught red-handed, and his entire scheme was thwarted. He was then referred to the Public Prosecution to complete the legal procedures.

To prevent falling victim to hacking, Lt Col bin Haider urged the owners of companies and private institutions that use electronic systems to ensure that those systems comply with the approved information security standards. Additionally, he stressed the importance of monitoring suspicious or unfamiliar movements in bank accounts, verifying the origin of financial transactions, and following up on bank accounts.