The Dubai Police General Command has urged members of the public, especially those who are looking for domestic helpers, to remain vigilant when using social media platforms and not to fall prey to cybercriminals and online scammers. Al Rashidiya Police Station received 14 reports about fraudsters scamming people looking for domestic helpers during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to its Director Brigadier Saeed Hamad bin Sulaiman Al-Malik. "The fraudsters duped victims by promising them to bring domestic helpers into the country in return for 9,000 dirhams to 13,000 dirhams in recruitment and administrative fees," Brig. Al-Malik said. "They exploited the suspension of labour recruitment during the COVID-19 pandemic, and took advantage of people's need for help during the quarantine period." Brig. Al-Malik added that those fraudsters scammed their victims for a total of 87,520 dirhams since the pandemic began until February of this year. "The fraudsters claimed that they could bring domestic helpers into the country despite the temporary shutdown of world's airports due to COVID-19 pandemic," he explained. Brig. Al-Malik also revealed another fraud case involving a fraudster, who offered a domestic helper to a family in order to gain their trust, so they asked him for three additional domestic helpers for a total amount of 35,000 dirhams. "After transferring the sum into his bank account, the fraudster began to procrastinate and ignore their calls and requests for weeks, then he disappeared," he continued. The director of Al Rashidiya Police Station pointed out that these fraudsters intend to bring a domestic helper to each family with a forged contract under the name of a labour recruitment agency to gain their trust before they scam them. He also explained that upon receiving the reports from citizens and residents, a task team was formed to investigate the cases and successfully track and arrest suspects as well as take the necessary legal procedures against them. Brig. Al-Malik warned members of the public not to fall into the trap of people who pose as representatives of labour recruitment agencies promising victims with domestic helpers in record times and at lower costs than the official and registered agencies. He also advised people to resort to the official and approved entities in the country for domestic helpers to avoid frauds and scams. — WAM
