DUBAI An Indian couple has been duped out of their brand new SUV by a man who posed as a wealthy buyer in a Rolls-Royce.
S.R., who works for a DIFC company, said they fell for the sweet-talking Arab conman who contacted them after her husband listed her Dh230,000 2015 Nissan Patrol SE for sale on a popular website this month.
Well-knit plan
“We didn’t suspect a thing. In fact, we were impressed when this man showed up at our Discovery Gardens home in a kandoura driving a white Rolls Royce to say that he was interested in buying our car,” S.R. said.
Her husband, S.M., said the Rolls-Royce had a three-digit number plate. “The man looked polished and was accompanied by a friend. We thought we had a genuine buyer. Our Nissan was just about a month old and had barely clocked 1,000 kilometres. The man appeared to like the car and offered to buy it for cash saying he needed it for his company,” added S.M.
To make it sound credible, the conman demanded immediate transfer of ownership. “He said he was very busy and couldn’t come back and I, looking at his overall attire, personna and three-digit registration plate, had nothing to doubt,” S.M. said.
S.M. took his car to an Al Qusais registration centre that evening for change of ownership.
“He promised to pay at the RTA centre. But after signing the papers he backtracked, saying he had only Dh70,000 in cash and that he would pay the balance the next day. I grew sceptical, but he dispelled my doubts by handing me a Dh230,000 cheque as guarantee.”
Reality hit the next day when the fellow failed to show up.
S.M., called the man several times but got no response. “He responded to one WhatsApp message saying he was busy and would call back. I haven’t heard from him since.” A bigger shock hit S.M. at the registration centre. The car had been sold the night before to someone in Dubai. As S.M. had feared, the Dh230,000 cheque bounced the next day and, as it turned out, the Rolls Royce used for the con job was a rented one.
