To combat soaring cybercrimes and online frauds, the Ministry of Interior (MoI) yesterday warned people to remain extra vigilant. 

People should not fall prey to scams and frauds and protect themselves by not responding to any middlemen or unscrupulous people offering to settle fines against violations by paying half or less than the amount or discounted air tickets via unknown online agencies, the ministry said in a statement. 

It also warned that victims of such frauds will also be subjected to legal procedures because of being partners in crimes.

Fraudsters make use of multiple modus operandi to entrap their victims such as by using forged (cloned) or stolen credit cards. 

They approach their victims to pay fines on their behalf through the Hukoomi website. 

Once the fine is paid through a stolen or cloned credit or ATM card, the victim is asked to check the latest status on the website of the government agency to make sure that the payment has been made. 

However, the victim, unaware of future consequences, gets entrapped and happily pays the negotiated amount to the criminal, only to realise later that the payment has been declined by the bank because the card used is fake and the fine for the violation still remains to be paid to authorities.

The ministry has called on everyone who comes across such fraudsters or cases to immediately inform the authorities by calling 2347444 or hotline number 66815757. One can also inform the authorities by sending an email to cccc@moi.gov.qa.

The Peninsula