Dubai resident scammed out of Dh4,848 while ordering burger, fries, drink and toys online

A Dubai resident, who has fallen victim to scammers, has shared his unfortunate story so others will avoid opportunistic cyber felons exploiting a rise in online orders during Eid Al Adha.

Frank (name changed as requested) ordered burgers, fries, soft drinks and merchandise toys from what he thought was an authentic website of a popular fast food chain. The bill was supposed to be only Dh37 because of the huge discount but he ended up being charged Dh4,848, and no food was delivered to his flat.

This is what happened, according to Frank.

“On June 26, I clicked a pop-up ad from what I thought was from my favourite fastfood restaurant. The offer was 50 per cent discount on purchases made that day, and – as a loyal customer – I took advantage of what I thought was a great offer,” he said.

“The promotion required me to make a payment of Dh37, which I did. I gave the OTP (one-time password) and soon I realised that I had been scammed. I received a message from my bank saying I made a transaction amounting to Dh4,848.

“The transaction went through. The money was clearly deducted from my bank account and no food was delivered to my house,” Frank despondently added.

He continued: “I reported the incident to the police and my bank. Cyber criminals have become more sophisticated. I fell victim to an online scam and I came out to share my experience so it will not happen again to anyone.”

Be vigilant

The Dubai Police have earlier reminded the public to be vigilant against fraudsters, especially during holidays when many bogus sites offer big discounts resembling those of established brands. They added no one should provide to anyone confidential bank data, including the CVV (Card Verification Value) number and OTP.

The Police said to double check the URLs (Uniform Resource Locator) or web address, and most importantly not to follow links from unknown sources.

Frank fell to this kind of scam – when an ad popped up on his computer screen. He learned his lesson and advised internet users to only purchase items from trusted and verified websites

How to spot a scam?

In order to best protect themselves, residents can keep an eye out for a few tell-tale signs that a message may be of fraudulent nature. These include:

> Poor grammar

> Misspelt words

> An unknown number or ID that does not display the name of the authority

> A link for payment

> A message asking you to pay immediately.

What to do?

Don’t fall victim to scammers. Never share your OTP. Report dubious calls, scams and any online fraud to authorities. Call 901 (Dubai Police) or report to the nearest Smart Police Station (SPS) or via ‘e-crime’ and Dubai Police website or smart app.

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