Police detain a suspect for stealing and selling recharge cards worth more than QR 6 million.

A suspect accused of launching an elaborate scam using recharge cards has been arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Qatar, authorities confirmed.

The man is accused of stealing data from recharge cards belonging to a telecommunications firm in his home country and selling them to Asian workers without a license through illegal means.

“The relevant agencies received information that recharge cards for international calls are sold in dollars and euros by promoting them through social media pages, at a price lower than that fixed by the local telecommunications companies,” the Ministry of Interior (MoI) said in a tweet on Tuesday. 

The defendant was arrested following an extensive investigation that involved the collection of evidence. He confessed to the charges against him.

Read also: Qatar police arrest man suspected of murdering two people in Al Wakrah

“He explained that he co-operates with a hacker in his country through the internet. The hacker provides him with the numbers of stolen recharge cards, and in turn, the accused prints them on forged cards and sells them through online platforms such as Facebook, IMO and WhatsApp,” MoI mentioned.

A large number of recharge cards valued at QR 6 million were found in a raid at his home in Qatar, authorities said. The police also found several appliances used for printing the recharge cards.

“The accused was referred to the Economic and Cyber Crimes Combating Department to complete the legal procedures followed in this regard,” according to MOI.

Authorities urged residents of Qatar to avoid dealing with unauthorised individuals and unreliable companies “to avoid falling victim to cybercrimes and legal accountability.”