Dubai tourists duped in fake-phone scam, two men jailed, ordered to repay $1,500

Dubai: The Dubai Court of Misdemeanours has sentenced two Asian men to one month in jail and ordered them to jointly repay the equivalent of $1,500 in UAE dirhams, before deporting them from the country, after finding them guilty of scamming a European visitor by selling him counterfeit mobile phones.

The case dates to September, when the tourist filed a police report stating he had been deceived and robbed of $1,500. He explained that he arrived in the UAE on a tourist visa and was walking along Sheikh Zayed Road when the two defendants approached him and offered two mobile phones at prices lower than those in authorised stores, Al Khaleej Arabic daily reported.

According to his statement, he inspected the phones and confirmed they were genuine and functioning properly. However, after paying and receiving the boxed devices, he began to suspect that one of the men had swapped the phones while placing them in the packaging. A quick check revealed he had indeed been scammed. He chased after the pair on foot and, with the help of a passer-by, managed to detain one of them until police arrived.

A police officer told the court that he arrested the first suspect and then located and apprehended the second within minutes. During questioning, both men admitted to defrauding the visitor and taking $1,500 from him.

They confessed to repeatedly selling counterfeit phones to unsuspecting pedestrians in several areas, explaining that they would initially display genuine devices and then secretly switch them during packing once payment was made.

The court convicted both defendants and handed down the sentence accordingly.