Dubai Police warns of Social Media Scams

The Dubai Police General Command has urged members of the public, especially who are looking for domestic helpers, to remain vigilant when using social media platforms and not to fall prey to cybercriminals and online scammers.

According to Brigadier Saeed Hamad bin Sulaiman Al Malik, Director of Al Rashidiya Police Station, the Station received 14 reports about fraudsters scamming people looking for domestic helpers during COVID-19 pandemic.

“The fraudsters deluded victims by promising them to bring domestic helpers into the country in return for AED 9,000-13,000 in recruitment and administrative fees,” “They exploited the suspension of labour recruitment during the COVID-19 pandemic, and took advantage of people’s need of help during the quarantine period,” Brig. Al Malik said.

Brig. Al Malik added that Al Rashidiya Police Station recorded 14 cases where fraudsters scammed their victims for a total of AED 87,520 since the pandemic began until February of this year. “The fraudsters claimed that they could bring domestic helpers into the country despite the temporary shutdown of world’s airports due to COVID-19 pandemic,” he explained.

Brig. Al Malik also revealed another fraud case involving a fraudster, who offered a domestic helper to a family in order to gain their trust, so they xxx asked him for three additional domestic helpers for a total amount of AED 35,000. “After transferring the sum into his bank account, the fraudster began to procrastinate and ignore their calls and requests for weeks, then he disappeared,” he continued.

Brig. Al Malik pointed out that these fraudsters intend to bring a domestic helper to each family with a forged contract under the name of a labour recruitment agency to gain their trust before they scam them.

He also explained that upon receiving the reports from citizens and residents, a task team was formed to investigate the cases and successfully track and arrest suspects as well as take the necessary legal procedures against them.

The director of Al Rashidiya Police Station warned members of the public not to fall prey into the trap of online advertisements of people who pose as representatives of labour recruitment agencies promising victims with domestic helpers in record times and at lower costs than the official and registered agencies. He also advised people to resort to the official and approved entities in the country for domestic helpers to avoid frauds and scams.