Sharjah: Renting out a bank account, setting up a fake company, issuing forged invoices, responding to suspicious social media offers or moving money for someone else may seem like harmless ways to make quick cash — but they can expose people to serious criminal charges, a senior Sharjah prosecutor has warned.Speaking on Sharjah TV’s Qadiya Lil Hiwar, which means in English “An issue for discussion” Dr Abdullah Mohammed Al Ali, Head of Prosecution and Assistant Prosecutor at the Sharjah Public Prosecution, said criminals are increasingly exploiting digital banking, social media, digital assets and legitimate-looking businesses to disguise the source of illicit money and move it rapidly between accounts.Get updated faster and for FREE: Download the Gulf News app now - simply click here.Some schemes are sophisticated. Others rely on ordinary people who are offered money to lend their bank accounts or carry out transfers on someone else’s behalf.“People need to understand that a bank account is a personal right,” Al Ali said, warning residents against allowing others to use their accounts or banking details.Renting bank accounts: The money-laundering trapRenting out bank accounts can make ordinary account holders an unwitting link in a criminal money trail, Sharjah prosecutor has warned.Al Ali said some individuals open four or five bank accounts and hand them over to others in exchange for money, allowing the accounts to be used to receive and move illicit funds.The accounts may be used by people without legal residency or those facing residency problems who do not want to use accounts in their own names. Criminals can move funds through several rented accounts, making it harder to identify who controls the money.Al Ali stressed that there is no legal concept of renting a bank account.This differs from a legitimate arrangement in which an account holder formally authorises another person to manage their finances. An elderly person or someone living outside the UAE, for example, may authorise another person through the bank’s official procedures.In such cases, the bank knows who is authorised to operate the account, allowing authorities to identify who was managing it if a suspicious transaction occurs.With a rented account, the holder may hand over banking access for payment, then face questions about transactions carried out in their name.Al Ali warned residents not to assume that saying “I rented out my account” will protect them. Authorities can examine whether the account was used to receive, transfer or conceal criminal proceeds, as well as the holder’s role and knowledge.Some account holders may claim they were only helping someone or earning extra income, but each case is assessed on the evidence and circumstances.“There is no legal concept of renting a bank account,” Al Ali said, urging residents never to allow others to use their accounts outside legitimate, bank-approved arrangements.Residents should also never hand over bank cards, account details, PINs, passwords or other banking access credentials.Allowing another person to use an account can expose its registered holder to serious legal and financial consequences if it is used to move criminal proceeds. New residents frequently targetedThe prosecutor said newly arrived residents are among the most common targets of account-rental schemes.Individuals who have recently obtained residency permits or started new jobs are often approached with offers of easy money in exchange for allowing others to use their accounts. Many fail to recognise the legal risks involved until they become subjects of financial investigations.Fake companies and bogus invoicesCriminals can also use fictitious companies to give illicit funds the appearance of legitimate business income.A company may have a trade licence and a registered address, but little or no genuine commercial activity.Money can then be deposited into its account and moved through apparently legitimate transactions.Al Ali said criminals may create fake sales and purchases, issue false invoices or record transactions that never actually happened before transferring the funds to personal accounts, other companies or accounts outside the UAE.He urged businesses to maintain accurate records of sales, purchases and transfers so legitimate transactions can be verified.Social media: The new front door for fraudSocial media has created another opportunity for criminals.Fraudsters can advertise products, property and other goods on platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat, often using unusually low prices to attract victims.A buyer may be asked to pay a deposit or transfer the full amount before receiving the product.After the payment, the victim may discover that the product does not exist, the company is fictitious and the seller has disappeared.Scammers may also create pressure by claiming that the offer is available for a limited time or that another buyer is ready to pay.The objective is to make the victim transfer money before carrying out basic checks.When a bargain becomes a warning signAl Ali urged consumers to be suspicious of prices that make little commercial sense.If an item normally sells for Dh15,000 but is suddenly offered online for a fraction of that amount, buyers should stop and investigate.The product could be counterfeit, the account could be fake or the entire transaction could be an attempt to defraud the buyer.Consumers should compare prices, verify the seller and check whether the business actually exists before transferring money.Digital assets speed up the money trailTechnology has also transformed the way illicit funds can be moved.Al Ali said digital banking and digital assets allow transactions to take place extremely quickly.Money obtained through fraud, for example, can be used to purchase digital assets and subsequently transferred to another account or an entity outside the UAE.The speed and complexity of these transactions can make the movement of criminal proceeds harder to identify.The danger of “helping” someoneAnother warning concerns people who agree to make transfers for someone else.A person may approach someone at a money exchange or elsewhere and claim that they need help sending money to relatives because they have a problem with their identity documents or do not have access to an account.The person helping may make the transfer using their own details, believing they are doing nothing more than a favour.Months later, they could be contacted by authorities and asked to explain the transaction.Al Ali urged residents to keep financial assistance within safe and lawful boundaries.“Helping people is a good thing, but there are matters involving bank accounts and financial transfers that people should stay away from,” he said.What if money suddenly appears in your account?