Residents across the Gulf Cooperation Council have been warned about a scam in which criminals offer to pay utility bills, fines or government fees at discounts of 50 to 80 per cent, while using stolen bank card details to settle the charges.

According to an investigation by cybersecurity company Group-IB, scammers first gain access to victims’ accounts through fake phishing pages, stolen banking credentials and, in some cases, phone number or eSIM takeovers. They then use the stolen information to pay other people’s genuine bills directly through official government portals.

The scammers subsequently collect a smaller amount from the person seeking the “discount”, usually through a bank transfer or cryptocurrency. Because the original payment is made to a legitimate government entity and may have passed 3D Secure verification through a compromised account, the transaction can initially appear legitimate.

Group-IB said it identified and flagged about 300 related cases at several major regional banks between October 2025 and August 2026. In one confirmed case involving 80 compromised bank cards, fraudulent transactions totalled $2.01 million, equivalent to about Dh7.4 million. More than 400 phishing sources linked to the network were also identified.

The scheme has also been reported in the UAE. In 2025, Dubai Police arrested a network that used stolen card details to pay motorists’ traffic fines while offering fake discounts of up to 70 per cent. Police warned that anyone who knowingly participates in such schemes could be legally regarded as an accomplice.

Group-IB advised residents to pay bills and government fees only through official apps or websites, and not to trust unusually large discount offers or advertisements simply because they appear in search results.