App to report scam, fakes, fraud in Dubai

Dubai: If you want to report a scam, an expired product sold in a grocery, a counterfeit item, a sham competition, financial ripoff or any consumer concern — and don’t know what to do or where to go — fret not. 

There’s an app for that in Dubai.

Download the AI-enabled bot app called “Dubai Consumer” on App Store or PlayStore, and report it right away.

Make sure you give your name, phone and email. Within three minutes, the people at the Department of Economic Development (DED) behind it say, you will get a response. 

And, if you download the Dubai Consumer app now, you could even win an iPhone X. 

Just head down to the Bur Juman Metro station, show the app on your smart phone to the DED staff in their booth from  today and Thursday, and you will get a free raffle coupon.

The app powered by artificial neural network system is a brainchild of the Commercial Compliance & Consumer Protection (CCCP) sector at DED-Dubai as part of its campaign to boost consumer protection in the emirate.

Here’s where you can find the booth in Bur Bur Juman metro station. 

Warning 

Earlier on Monday, the DED’s compliance sector called on businesses and entrepreneurs to be vigilant about misleading and unlicensed project financing offers as well as competitions often announced at conferences or across social media.

CCCP urged people to call the DED Contact Centre to verify the authenticity of competitions and events that call for innovative business ideas and then ask to pay participation fees, promising that the winning idea will be awarded financing.

The warning comes in line with the agency’s initiatives to curb commercial fraud and protect businessmen and potential entrepreneurs with innovative businesses from people who engage in unlicensed and unscrupulous activities.