Dubai Police have urged people to be vigilant against fake advertisements for domestic workers.
The warning came after a woman was swindled out of Dh10,000 by scammers posing as a legitimate recruitment office for domestic workers.
The woman was looking for a domestic worker to assist with household duties when she came across an advertisement offering appealing terms on social media, Dubai Police reported on their Facebook page on Saturday.
She contacted the phone number listed and was offered assurances that a suitable worker was available who matched her requirements. The woman was then asked to pay a small deposit to set the process in motion.
Minutes later, she received another message requesting a “delivery fee” to confirm the order, which she also paid, said Capt Abdullah Al Mansouri, of the Criminal Prevention Department at the General Department of Criminal Investigation,
This was followed by another message saying the worker was ready for delivery once a final payment was made. Eager to complete the process quickly, the woman transferred the requested amount, which brought the total sum she paid to Dh10,000. All communication ceased soon after the final sum was transferred.
This method is among the most common forms of online fraud, said Capt Al Mansouri, who added scammers often rely on fake advertisements, appealing prices and dividing payments into instalments to create “a false sense of credibility”, before taking the full amount and vanishing.
He stressed the importance of dealing only with authorised and licensed domestic recruitment offices in the UAE. People should not respond to adverts for domestic workers on social media or engage with unknown individuals outside legal channels, he said.
