Police in Dubai have arrested three men accused of stealing more than Dh223 million (around £40 million) after obtaining credit card information used in online transactions.
Police say the gang stole the information of 16,975 credit cards from people making online transactions on Web sites offering government and semi-government services as well as e-commerce sites.
According to local press reports, the gang stole the card details by creating a false Web site, before buying millions of pounds worth of goods, including diamonds and gold, online.
In a statement, Dubai CID says it began monitoring and collecting evidence on the gang in July after receiving a tip-off. A raid was then carried out and two men were caught "red-handed" with the devices they were using to carry out the fraud.
The men guided the police to the third suspect whilst a fourth, believed to be out of the country, is the subject of an extradition warrant.
Colonel Khalil Ebrahim Al Mansouri, deputy director, CID, has warned banks to constantly monitor ATMs and inform security bodies about any suspicious devices that are installed on or near the machines. He also called on the public to safeguard information of their credit cards.
Police told local press that the gang were partly responsible for a surge in fraudulent ATM withdrawals made abroad earlier this year, which led to banks in the region sending text messages to thousands of customers in September urging them to change their PIN numbers.