Dubai Police have blocked five thousand fake social media accounts that were used to scam people out of money, they have announced.
During the launch of one-month campaign Be Aware of Fake Accounts on Wednesday, police said that the accounts were blocked since mid-2017.
Mohammed Al Zarouni, head of the policies and programmes department at the Telecommunication Regulatory Authority, said that the accounts were blocked using an automated system that monitors and blocks suspicious accounts within 24 hours.
Brig Jamal Salem Al Jallaf, director of the General Department of Criminal Investigation in Dubai police, said that criminals have been abusing Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to scam people.
Offenders were mostly aged between 30 and 35, from overseas and their accounts impersonated important personalities locally and internationally.
