Twelve jailed in Bahrain for phone scam

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

Twelve men of Asian origin have been convicted of scamming victims by posing as bank employees, deceiving them into revealing verification codes to access their savings.

The men used a popular money transfer app to identify targets, calling victims under the pretext of updating account information.

Their operation unravelled when a woman, who lost BD468, filed a police complaint. Investigators traced the call, uncovering the broader network and making arrests.

The Supreme Court of Appeal upheld the conviction of one defendant, confirming the role of all twelve. Four were sentenced to five years in prison and fined BD1,000, while the remaining eight received three-year terms. All will be deported after serving their sentences.

How the scam worked

Investigators said the group operated in small teams. Some gathered personal data, while others posed as bank staff. The ringleaders, identified as the first and twelfth defendants, recruited members and provided the necessary tools for the scam.

The second defendant helped collect phone numbers. His phone contained screenshots of victims’ app data. Similarly, the fourth and eighth defendants claimed they were lured to Bahrain under the promise of selling sweets, only to be coerced into the operation.

The fifth and twelfth defendants worked together to gather information, while the sixth had 277 screenshots of Bahraini numbers on his phone. The seventh defendant confirmed that the first and second defendants made the fraudulent calls in Arabic.

The ninth and tenth defendants also stored large numbers of Bahraini phone contacts. The eleventh, promised a job in the sweets trade, was later assigned to collect and share phone numbers.

When questioned, the twelfth defendant admitted to scraping 50 to 100 numbers from the app and claimed the first and tenth defendants were responsible for the scam calls, speaking in both Arabic and English. Authorities seized the defendants’ phones, revealing extensive evidence of the fraud. The court also ordered the confiscation of all illegal proceeds.