Fraudsters continue to adopt increasingly sophisticated methods to exploit unsuspecting victims. Lina, a Filipina expatriate living in Dubai and undergoing chemotherapy, became a recent target.
According to a Khaleej Times report, she took out a loan of AED 100,000 to cover her treatment expenses, but soon after, she fell prey to a scam that left her devastated and without the much-needed funds.
Lina had applied for the loan through a bank agent, providing all necessary contact details and personal information. Shortly after receiving her loan confirmation, she got a call from someone pretending to be a Dubai Police officer. “The caller knew detailed information about my loan, including the amount, bank lender, and repayment terms,” Lina said.
The scammer convinced her that the call was legitimate and claimed to need additional information for an investigation into fraudulent activities concerning her loan. Trusting the caller due to the specific details provided, Lina disclosed her one-time password (OTP). In an instant, her loan amount vanished. “I was made to believe the call was legitimate. The scammer claimed he needed to verify some information due to a supposed investigation into fraudulent activities on my loan. Convinced by all the detailed knowledge the caller had, I disclosed my OTP. In a snap, I lost all the money intended for my chemotherapy,” Lina recounted.
Atty. Barney Almazar, director of the corporate-commercial department at Gulf Law and handling Lina’s case, expressed concern about the potential data leak from financial institutions. He noted a shift in how fraudsters operate. “When I started assisting victims of credit card fraud in Dubai more than a decade ago, most of the victims lost their physical cards which were then illegally used by scammers. Now, credit card fraud has evolved dramatically and is often committed online. Fraudsters are using sophisticated methods such as WhatsApp, Google Pay, and Apple Pay platforms,” Almazar said.