The Anti-Fraud Center at the General Department of Criminal Investigation in Dubai Police has issued a strong warning against the growing use of artificial intelligence technologies by fraudsters to forge official and unofficial documents for financial scams and legal violations.

As part of Dubai Police’s ongoing “Be Aware of Fraud” campaign, the center emphasized the importance of public awareness regarding the evolving methods criminals use to exploit rapid technological advancements, particularly artificial intelligence, to commit sophisticated crimes.

The center explained that many forged documents produced using AI appear highly professional in terms of language and formatting, making them difficult to detect at first glance. However, these documents often contain warning signs that can be identified by specialized authorities, such as inaccurate information, wording that differs from officially approved templates, or the use of fake signatures and stamps.

Dubai Police stressed the importance of verifying the source of any document received via email or social media, rather than relying solely on its appearance. This includes reviewing digital file data, checking creation and modification dates, and confirming the presence of official reference numbers that can be traced through legitimate channels.

The Anti-Fraud Center reiterated that the use of artificial intelligence for document forgery constitutes a criminal offense punishable by law. Members of the public are urged to report any suspected fraud immediately through the Dubai Police smart application, by calling 901, or via the eCrime platform dedicated to reporting cybercrimes.

Regarding legal consequences, the center highlighted that Article 252 of Federal Decree-Law No. 31 of 2021 stipulates temporary imprisonment of up to ten years for forging official documents, while forgery of non-official documents is punishable by imprisonment. Article 253 further states that forging or using a forged copy of an official document, with knowledge of its falsification, is punishable by temporary imprisonment of up to five years.

Additionally, Article 14 of Federal Decree-Law No. 34 of 2021 on Combating Rumors and Cybercrimes imposes strict penalties, including temporary imprisonment and fines ranging from AED 150,000 to AED 750,000 for forging electronic documents belonging to federal or local government entities. The law also prescribes imprisonment and fines for forging documents of non-government entities or using forged electronic documents with prior knowledge of their falsification.