Filipina renting apartment in Dubai shocked after getting fake tenancy contract

Dubai: A woman who was seeking to rent a flat in Dubai has been scammed of Dh 7,250 by two men who gave her a fake tenancy contract.

The Dubai Court of First Instance heard that the 31-year-old Filipina saw a post on Facebook in April about an apartment for rent with a mobile number. She gave the deposit and they handed her a tenancy contract.

But later she discovered it was forged. “I called the number and one of the defendants asked me to come and see the apartment in the Oud Al Muteena area. I met the two defendants who took me to the apartment before I handed them the Dh250 registration fees,” the woman said in official records.

After three days, she gave them Dh7,000 in return for a tenancy contract and the pair even gave her receipts.

However, she later realised she was duped and lodged a complaint with the Al Muraqabbat police station. “I couldn’t reach the duo as they had switched off their mobile phones.”

Dubai Police arrested the two Pakistani men, aged 24 and 21. Showing interest in renting the apartment, they had gained access to the place through the building watchman and taken pictures of the unit which they later posted on Facebook.

The watchman thought the woman was a relative of the two men when they brought her to check the apartment.

Dubai Public Prosecution charged the pair with forging official documents, using it and illegally obtaining Dh7,250 from the victim.

The next hearing in the case is scheduled for June 29.