THREE Bahrainis have been arrested for getting involved in an international telephone billing and bankcards hacking scheme.

A hacker lured one of them through a chat room after he proved to him that he could pay for his telephone bill with half the amount, which he could also return to him.

"The hacker promised him that his money will be returned back to him safely after bill was paid," a Public Prosecution spokesman said yesterday.

"The defendant did not believe him at first, but later decided to give it a try and sent him the money and his telephone number.

"A few days later, the hacker told him to check if his bill was paid and the defendant found out that it really was. His money was also returned to him.

"The hacker performed the same scheme for the defendant a few times until he decided to inform his friend about it."

He told his friend that he would introduce him to someone who could help him pay his telephone bills, said the spokesman.

"He introduced his friend to the hacker and had him pay his telephone bills as well using the same scheme several times," he said.

The hacker then told the second Bahraini that he was able to provide him with ATM card numbers that he could use to pay for whatever he needed.

He agreed and was provided with almost 100 numbers, which he could use manually without using the actual card.

"The third defendant was later involved after the second defendant informed him that he had the ATM numbers and he wanted to try them out," said the spokesman.

"The third defendant told him that he knew a restaurant that belonged to his friend where they could go and try the numbers."

"When they went there, they tried one of the numbers, which turned out to contain BD1,400," said the spokesman.

Police were able to arrest the men after reports were filed to police from various countries by the card owners

Initial investigation by Bahrain's police led them to the Bahraini, who checked the card numbers at the restaurant.

"An employee at the restaurant was able to describe the two defendants to the police," said the spokesman.

Both the men were brought into custody, who led the police to the third Bahraini.

All men confessed to their charges against them.

"The first and the second defendant are being charged with deception while the third defendant has been charged with getting involved with them," said the spokesman.

They will remain in custody for a week until their case goes to court. sara@gdn.com.bh