Abu Dhabi Police urge residents to be cautious when withdrawing money or carrying cash and valuables
Abu Dhabi: A woman was left in a state of shock after her bag was snatched as she emerged outside a bank in the Tourist Club area in Abu Dhabi on Thursday afternoon.
The incident occurred as the woman was getting into her car parked in front of the bank. She raised an alarm, but the thief had escaped.
The distraught woman approached the bank’s security guard to call the police as her phone was in the stolen bag. The police could not be contacted for an immediate comment.
A few minutes before this, who was witness to the women’s plight, was himself the victim of a scam when he emerged from the same bank carrying an envelope with a bank statement. When the reporter got into his car [parked outside the bank], a stranger knocked on his car window and said something unintelligible to him, pointing towards the car tyre. The reporter got down from the car to check the tyres and in the hurry, left the envelope on the car seat. When he got back into the car — having realised it was a false alarm — the stranger and the envelope were nowhere to be seen.
Abu Dhabi Police has been warning people to be more vigilant at banks after withdrawing money, urging them to secure the money before leaving the premises, and to keep it out of sight from strangers when getting into cars in public places.
