Group-IB uncovers $2M cyber fraud scheme exploiting government payment portals in the GCC

Group-IB has unveiled a critical investigation revealing how organised cybercriminals are exploiting legitimate payment infrastructure across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. In a novel scheme, scammers are using stolen credit cards to pay real government bills and fines for people at a discount, secretly turning routine bill payments into a way to cash out stolen money, while bypassing bank security. Between October 2025 and August 2026, Group-IB’s Fraud Protection team detected appro