A large telemarketing racket has been busted by the Dubai Police that has conned a number of people to give them money in order to win prizes that are given to them from telecom companies.

Dubai Police has urged the residents of Dubai to report the matter if they come across any such cases directly to them by calling on the number 901.

33 Asian suspects had been caught in separate raids where the suspects were to reported to be hiding out in Deira and a neighboring Emirate. The suspects had been calling thousands of people and had been asking them to transfer their money in exchange for ‘valuable prizes’.

Brigadier Saeed Hamad Bin Sulaiman, director of Al Rashidiya police station said, “ We received information about a group of people operating from an apartment in Deira. The suspects had been staying in the apartment for a long period of time. We raided the apartment and arrested 14 Asian suspects and seized many SIM cards, registered in different names, and about 70 mobile phones.”

After calling their victims, the suspects would destroy the sim card from which they called their victims in order to escape the police detection.

Brigadier Saeed Hamad Bin Sulaiman further added, “They called people claiming they had won a Dh200,000 prize and asked them to wire money to claim the prize money. Unfortunately, many people fall for this kind of scam.” Also adding, “They were 19 Asian suspects who had been staying in a house and calling victims. We found only the phones and SIM cards, not the scammed money, as they had wired the money outside the country immediately.”

He has urged the public to report the matter directly to the number 901 so that they can directly track the individual at hand and take direct action on such con men.

“Even if a person wasn’t duped by them, he or she should call 901 and provide us with the number so we can arrest the culprits. Members of the public should be more aware [of the scam]. It is hard to believe that someone will win this kind of money so easily,” Col Bin Hammad said.