As many as 74 cases of car frauds were recorded and 27 suspects arrested by the Dubai Police in 2017. So, it helps to be wary while buying or selling cars through unauthorised websites.
The glaring fact coupled with the cautionary note came about during a panel discussion organised by the CID on Tuesday. Titled 'Fraud in the sale of vehicles', the session raised concern over the growing cases where conmen were fleecing unsuspecting car buyers or sellers.
Brigadier Salim Al-Rumaithi, director of CID, said that the discussion - organised in the presence of various partners of the Dubai Police - aimed to find proactive solutions to reduce car frauds. He added that the panel members have come up with a set of recommendations to arrest such crimes.
Al Rumaithi said that the discussion focused on four main axes: awareness, transfer of car ownership, the penal code, and social media.
Authorities highlighted the role of public prosecution in car frauds, where the investigation of the incident and collection of the existing evidence is crucial.
Dr Mohammed Hussein Bin Ali Al Hammadi from the Dubai Public Prosecution said that fraud in the sale of vehicles has become one of major areas of concern. The security department and judiciary have to work in tandem to nail the culprits. These frauds - which have increased in the past years - are committed either by individuals or gangs, he pointed out. Al Hammadi praised the seamless coordination and cooperation between the government departments to eliminate these crimes.
Authorities warned that it was paramount to check the authenticity and credibility of websites before buying or selling vehicles.
The economic department has developed an electronic merchant licence system and owners of unlicenced sites can register in it. This aims to organize the sale and purchase process in a legal framework.
Sultan Al-Marzouqi from the Roads and Transport Authority said that RTA plays a major role in ascertaining the authenticity of transfer of car ownership. He pointed out that the authority has connected electronically with banks to ensure that the cars are not sold until the bank's approval is received and only after the ID card and ID card readers verify the presence of the seller and the buyer.
Issuing dud cheque should be deemed as fraud
The panel discussion came out with 12 recommendations, which will be submitted to the authorities concerned to find solutions to check car frauds. The most important recommendation is that if a dud cheque is used in selling or buying a car, it should be considered as a fraud case. The guilty should be sentenced to prison from one month to 3 years and fined Dh1,000 to Dh300,000.
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