Beware of stalkers, bank customers told

Dubai Police has intensified efforts to curb theft of money from bank customers and ATM users.

The Police’s Department of Criminal Investigation has taken steps such as constant surveillance of banks and ATMs and security awareness campaigns to include all segments of society.

Brigadier Khalil Ibrahim Al Mansouri, director of the department, urged bank customers to use, if necessary, the services of specialised companies to transfer funds securely.

He also urged bank customers to learn from others’ mistakes. He gave the example of a bank customer who withdrew a large sum of money but was unaware that there were eyes monitoring him.

"The victim went to his car and put the envelope containing the money on the front seat, covered it with a cloth and left the car for a meal not costing more than Dh5.

“The thief broke the glass window of the car and took the envelope. But the police was able to arrest the criminal in a short time and return the stolen money to the bank customer,” he added.

Al Mansouri mentioned some of the tricks of criminals specialising in robbing bank customers such as throwing chilli powder into the eyes of the victim to grab the money.

Another ruse was to tell the car owner that the rear tyre of his vehicle is flat or that there is oil under the car. The driver of the car would then be forced to check the tyre or the engine, during which time the criminals would make off with the bag or envelope on the front seat.

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