UAE: New loan scammers, fake WhatsApp job offers dupe residents out of up to Dh500,000

Online scammers have become busier nowadays, as new forms of scamming emerge. One latest fraud is called ‘loan scam’, where a dubious lending company would ask victims to first deposit money as a processing fee to secure a loan, then would demand another payment to release the fund.

This just happened to Cristy, 35, a Filipina expatriate who works as a shift supervisor at a restaurant in Dubai.

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She told Khaleej Times: “I saw a sponsored ad on Facebook giving quick collateral-free loans to OFWs (overseas Filipino workers). I grabbed the opportunity because there was an emergency back home and I needed money.”

Cristy reached out to the alleged lending company and was told to deposit P20,000 (about Dh1,250) as processing fee and no other requirements were required.

She said: “I borrowed money from a friend because I needed to secure a quick P200,000 loan (Dh12,500). There was no other requirement, like salary certificate or bank statement – so I thought ‘wow this is great’ – and they promised quick loan release.”

The lending company immediately confirmed receipt of the ‘processing fee.’

“But after a couple of days, I got a notification that my loan was cancelled due to ‘low credit’,” said Cristy, adding: “I was told that I had to deposit another P50,000 (Dh3,125) to remove the low credit rating, and then the P200,000 would be released immediately, including the P50,000 deposit.”

Cristy ended up paying P70,000 (Dh4,375) and she received nothing. The loan officer blocked all her calls and did not respond to any of her messages. “All our conversations were done via Telegram and I could no longer reach the loan officer,” she ruefully said.

“I was enticed by the promise of quick loan release and collateral-free arrangement. It was late when I realised it was a scam,” Cristy added.

‘Busy scammers’

Attorney Barney Almazar, director of corporate-commercial department at Gulf Law, who handles cases like Cristy's, told Khaleej Times “scammers have become busier and more aggressive looking for victims nowadays.”

“Our cybersecurity and financial fraud team have been assisting about 20 victims on a monthly basis the past five months,” he said, noting that there is “a troubling increase in online scams that are preying on one's trust and financial security.”

“These scams range from fraudulent loan processing to enticing part-time job offers via messaging apps like WhatsApp. Alarmingly, we have one client who reported a loss of more than half a million dirhams to such deceitful schemes,” he added.

Almazar said victims of fraudulent online loan offers are now emerging.

“Scammers, masquerading as legitimate agents of banks, promise attractive loan terms and quick approvals even to those unemployed or on tourist visas. They demand an upfront ‘processing fee’ before the loan can be finalised. Once the fee is paid, the scammers vanish, leaving the victim nothing but more debts,” he noted.

Dh534,800 gone in 2 days

Almazar said another prevalent scam involves fake job offers circulated through WhatsApp and similar messaging platforms. These messages promise high incomes for minimal work, such as completing simple tasks or participating in surveys.

Victims are often required to provide personal information or pay a fee to get started. Once the fee is paid or the information is given, the scammers disappear, often leading to identity theft or financial loss.

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