Dubai: It would appear that scam artists aren’t waiting until the month of Ramadan to pilfer the wallets of good-hearted victims duped into believing they are helping out someone in dire need.
In years past, the UAE has weathered its fair share of scamming trends from snake-oil salesmen who offer cheap Italian suits from the trunk of a car to the ever-present family guy with six kids in his car who asks for Dh100 in petrol money to limp home to safety.
And who can forget the bedraggled man with the long face who, wincing with pain, asks unwitting victims for a little cash to pay for medicine to treat a gaping gash oozing on his forearm?
Now, residents in Bur Dubai are being hit with the latest scam — the seeming impromptu chance to buy a brand new iPhone4S valued at more than Dh3,000 but for as little as half the price.
At the end of the day, however, those who fall for the ruse are being taken for their money in a bait-and-switch move by an undesirable element that has perfected the scam down to a tee.
Dubai Police have yet to issue a public advisory about the new iPhone4S scam but one victim told Gulf News on Sunday that he was unwittingly conned out of Dh1,000 on July 4 around 10pm after leaving a friend’s home in Bur Dubai.
The victim said that he was walking on Bank Street near Mussallah Towers when he was approached out of the blue by an affable Asian man who confided that he was short of cash and needed a quick fix to meet his rent at the end of the month.
He offered the victim — a 34-year-old communications professional living in Dubai — the chance to buy a black model of the iPhone4S on the cheap.
He even showed him the receipt of purchase.
The con artist said he simply wanted Dh1,600, so the victim, who already owns a white iPhone4S, took a closer look at the phone to check the identification number. He then followed up on an invitation to use the con artist’s phone to call his own mobile to ensure that it was working properly.
“I got the phone number and miscalled myself to make sure that the phone he was selling was a good one,” said the victim in an interview. “He said I could take a picture of him to show that the phone camera was also working.”
He didn’t take the picture but the victim took the bait.
After handing over Dh1,000, the con artist handed him an iPhone4S box and they parted company but almost immediately the victim sensed something didn’t feel right as he walked to his car.
“In five or 10 seconds, I noticed the box felt too light but it was too late, he was already blocks away. I chased him but he ran for his life. I was so mad, he knew he’d cheated me,” said the victim.
When the man looked inside the iPhone4S box he discovered that the con artist had switched the real iPhone4S for a cheap fake copy, a Chinese-made mobile.
The victim said he wanted to share his story with others through the media to help warn others before they are also taken for their money.
“I’ve have already heard of several other people who have fallen for this trick in Bur Dubai and I want to warn people that this can happen to them,” he said. “I can afford to lose Dh1,000 but for other people who have a hard time earning their money, it is very sad that they are being tricked like this.”
