An Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) based in Dubai has come forward to raise awareness after falling victim to an online scam that mimicked a legitimate food delivery service. The victim, who has requested anonymity, shared her harrowing experience in hopes of preventing others from experiencing the same fate.
The incident occurred in March 2021, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The victim, along with her flatmate, was searching for discounted food offers online when they came across a sponsored ad on Google for a 50% discount on Papa John’s pizza. “The website looked exactly the same as the real Papa John’s site,” she recalled to The Global Filipino Magazine. “It seemed legit, and the offer was very enticing, especially with the 50% discount.”
However, there was a crucial detail that went unnoticed. “I didn’t pay attention to the URL at first, but later I realized that one of the characters in ‘papajohns.ae’ was different on the scammer’s website,” she explained.
Driven by hunger and the appealing offer, she proceeded with the order, applying the discount coupon, which appeared to reduce the total bill by 50%. “The 60 dirhams large pizza became 30 dirhams, and that made me even more confident that the website was real,” she said.
Her skepticism grew during the checkout process when she noticed that Cash on Delivery (COD) was not available. Despite her concerns, she continued with the transaction, using her Emirates NBD debit card. “When I input my card details and went to pay, I didn’t receive an OTP [One-Time Password], which made me nervous. Then, the website went to a blank page, and within 5 seconds, my debit card was charged nearly 4,000 dirhams.”
The victim described her shock and anxiety after realizing that the money meant for her rent had been stolen. “I was really scared. My hunger disappeared, and I immediately called the bank to block my card and dispute the transaction,” she said.
The bank allowed her to file a dispute since no OTP was received. “They sent me a dispute claim form via email, which I filled out and submitted. When I checked my bank statement, I saw that the merchant was from Medellin, Colombia,” she explained.
The bank informed her that the investigation could take 1 to 3 months, with the possibility of fines if the transaction was found to be valid. Fortunately, her landlord was understanding and agreed to hold her rent cheque until the issue was resolved.
The victim persisted in following up with the bank, making constant calls and even visiting a branch, though she was told to wait for the investigation’s outcome. “I patiently waited for 3 weeks, and on the 4th week, the transaction was reversed, and I got the money back in my account,” she said, expressing her relief.
Since the incident, the victim has become much more cautious with online transactions. “From that point, I’ve been very careful. I always double, triple-check if the website is legit, especially the URL. If there’s no COD or Apple Pay option, I don’t proceed with the order. If card payment is the only option, it’s a red flag for me.”