Cyber criminals who defrauded residents in Dubai Marina and Palm Jumeirah have been sentenced to six months in prison after hijacking mobile phone signals to send fake banking alerts.

Three Asian men have been jailed for six months each by the Dubai Criminal Court, after police tracked an online trail that led to the hackers, according to local reports.

Prosecutors uncovered a sophisticated fraud that included smuggling specialist IT equipment and signal jammers into the UAE, allowing the gang to establish a rogue parallel mobile phone network.

Legitimate mobile frequencies were blocked and replaced with a shadow network in which unsuspecting victims were targeted after receiving bogus SMS messages from banks and other institutions.

Copycat logos and convincing language were used to deceive online banking users, who were then directed to malicious links where personal data and financial credentials were harvested.

That information was then used by the gang to siphon off funds.

The fraud was uncovered when experts from the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority tracked the signals after being alerted by residents in Dubai Marina who had received suspicious messages and raised the alarm.

Suspects were apprehended in Palm Jumeirah after police traced the digital trail to a vehicle that contained jamming devices, receivers, computers and electrical converters.

The gang’s devices were seized, and those sentenced are due to be deported after completing their prison terms.

In their defence, two men claimed they were hired through the encrypted chat service Telegram to act as drivers for Dh2,500 a day.

A third defendant admitted being paid Dh10,000 to source and install the equipment but denied fraud.

The court found sufficient evidence against the men to reject their claims.

Online scams can be reported to Dubai Police through a dedicated website, even if you have not been a victim of a crime or lost money.

By visiting ecrimehub.gov.ae and clicking on the “Report eCrime” link, complaints and concerns can be registered with police.

Residents are advised to upload any screenshots of suspicious messages to assist investigators.

In Abu Dhabi, a similar service is provided by police through its Aman portal, while those elsewhere in the UAE can contact the Ministry of Information’s eCrimes platform – an app that covers all seven emirates and allows anyone to report and register complaints.