New forms of electronic fraud detected in Oman

Muscat: The department for Combating Economic Crimes at the General Department of Criminal Inquiries and Investigations has detected various innovative methods of electronic fraud, the Royal Oman Police (ROP) said.

A statement issued online by the ROP said: "A new criminal method has been revealed, which is phishing for victims by sending a message on a social media site in which the fraudster poses as a girl from an Arab country and asks for material assistance due to the living conditions in that country. Where the fraudster seeks during the communication period, to build an emotional relationship with the victim through which the personal photos of the two parties are exchanged. "

"Then the victim is surprised by a call from a person claiming to be a relative of the girl and informing him that the relationship between them has been revealed and that the girl was beaten and was taken to the hospital for treatment. The fraudster asks the victim to bear the costs of her treatment or threatens him saying they would file a complaint with the Omani embassy in that country. Then the fraudster again calls the victim, claiming that he is an employee at the Embassy, and that there is a complaint against him. A number of citizens and residents have fallen victim to this criminal method and have paid huge sums of money."

"The ROP affirms the need to beware of fraudsters who use these seductive and varied methods of fraud through social media, and the need to pay attention not to deal with these kind of people and to preserve values and morals and inform the competent authorities immediately upon exposure to such methods," the statement added.