The first thing that Dubai brings to mind is luxury and wealth, an oasis in the desert, not necessarily romance scams and investment fraud. Everyone pictures Dubai as a city that only a few can afford, however Dubai is also home to an increasing amount of romance scammers. Many immigrants lacking formal education and training in Dubai and the UAE have been struggling to survive with the high cost of living, and as a result, have turned to illegal operations to make ends meet.

The UAE’s economy is the largest consumer market in the Middle East and it is expected to be the fastest growing economy in the region in 2019. Its natural resources, mainly oil and gas, along with services, made it one of the world’s richest countries, with a very high-average income.

Contrary to the trends in other high risk countries for fraud (which are mostly developing countries with low income rates), the UAE is one of the higher risk developed countries for fraud.

One of the reasons this happens is that the UAE is also the most densely migrant-populated country in the world, home to more than 8 million migrant workers coming mainly from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Egypt and the Philippines (all countries with high rates of corruption and fraud). Most of the migrants are in the bottom of the employment pyramid working in low income jobs like domestic staff or construction, with wages that can be between $200 USD and $400 USD per month. Many of them have taken loans in their home countries to be granted a visa. It is not uncommon to find those who find an extra-income in the internet fraud industry, mainly romance and dating scams.

Online romance scams have been triggered by the reputation of Dubai and Abu Dhabi of being two of the richest global cities and business hubs. In such environment, it is easy for online criminals who assume false identities and make up stories of wealthy and successful business people. This attracts the potential victims on social media and online dating, where the scam begins. Victims think they are safe when dealing with a U.S. or U.K. business person traveling or working in Dubai, for example, because the UAE is not known for fraud or scams compared to other high risk countries.

Learn more: got in contact with yet another lady involved in a romance scam. She thought she was talking to the famous Greg S Rei. About us Stop-Scammers.com is the place to find the most up-to-date information on female scammers anywhere in the world. As the Internet has grown in popularity and scope, so too have the ways in which thieves and other conmen can use it to relieve you of your money. The Nigerian scam has long been flagged as a common type of cyber crime. But for every scammer that is apprehended by law enforcement, there are so many more that never will be. In fact, the U.S. Financial Crimes Division of the Secret Service reportedly receives 100 calls a day from people claiming to be victims of a Nigerian scam.

Watch out for UAE romance scammers

As we all know, not everyone using online dating sites is looking for love. Scammers create fake online profiles using photos of other real people and make up life stories. They choose a name, a career, an CV or employment, and many other details that can add value to their fake persona. Then, they begin their hunt for a victim using dating apps and websites and social media networks.

Local private investigators in the UAE say most romance scammers profess their love quickly, but others take their time to develop trust. The first red flag to be aware of is the fact that the person you are communicating with is from the UAE, or claims to be currently located in Dubai or Abu Dhabi. Another important thing to watch out for is money requests to help them get out of financial trouble, or requests to receive and cash checks. As losing money wasn’t bad enough, romance scammers are now involving their victims in online bank fraud as well, so anything involving receiving or sending money is a major red flag. Other criminals never ask for money, but instead slowly obtain your personal data and passwords to steal your identity or blackmail you, leaving victims devastated.

How to stay safe online

If you meet someone from the UAE or claiming to be doing business in Dubai or Abu Dhabi, hire a reputable private investigation to conduct a dating background check investigation as soon as possible! The best way to avoid being a victim is to know the truth from the start, and a dating background check investigation can provide evidence to verify if you are communicating with a real person or a criminal. Don’t wait until it is too late! It is better to have the evidence sooner than later.

Wymoo® has highly trained professional investigators on the ground in over 100 countries, including Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Let us verify the company or individual you’re dealing with and uncover the facts and evidence for you. Be safe, get a free investigation quote today!

C. Wright
© Wymoo International

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Not all imposters and online criminals are clever. Many slip up, get caught and are brought to justice.

The most common questions scam victims ask when they contact us at MyChargeBack may very well be these:

1. Do scammers get caught?

2. Do police ever arrest them?

3. Will they ever serve time in prison?

The answer to all those questions is “yes.” Some scammers do get caught, and the chances are excellent that those who are will wind up in prison. Others, perhaps most, are luckier, and get away with it.

Amateur Scammers Do Get Caught

You may have missed it, but earlier this monthtwo Mississippi men tried to fake a winning lottery ticket. Their story sounds like an Abbott and Costello routine, but it’s absolutely true.

The dynamic duo from the Magnolia State pasted the winning numbers on their lottery ticket in a vain attempt to claim the $100,000 prize. That was a fatal mistake, since it was a “scratch ticket.” The numbers on scratch tickets are invisible when you buy them because there is a silvery film that hides them. Buyers literally have to scratch it off with a coin or their nails to uncover the numbers underneath, so lottery agents will immediately spot anything pasted on them. And that’s exactly what happened. Police arrested the two after they showed up at the lottery office to collect what they expected to be their ill-gotten gains.

International Cooperation

In October 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice made a dramatic announcement. Extensive international coordination resulted in the arrests of 281 scamming suspects across four continents. A total of 167 in Nigeria, 74 in the United States, 18 in Turkey, and 15 in Ghana. Police in France, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Malaysia, and the United Kingdom arrested the remainder. The codename of the joint effort was Operation reWired, and it was the largest such bust of scammers in history. But it wasn’t the first such international effort.

A few weeks earlier the Department of Justice indicted 80 others and charged them with money laundering. Authorities succeeded in locating and arresting 14 of them by that time. And a year before, another international operation called Wire Wire succeeded in nabbing 74 alleged scammers.

Yes, You Can Catch a Scammer Yourself

It sounds like the theme of a comedy film, but yes, there are instances in which the intended victim turns the tables and winds up catching the scammer. The most notable (and probably the most comical) case involved an intended victim named William Webster. If that name doesn’t immediately ring a bell, he happens to be the only man in history who served as director of the FBI as well as the CIA.

In 2014, a Jamaican named Keniel Thomas contacted Webster (among, it turned out, many others) claiming he was calling from Mega Millions, one of the two main jackpot lotteries in the U.S. He congratulated the former FBI and CIA director for winning several million dollars and a Mercedes-Benz in the jackpot. To collect the cash and the car, Thomas told Webster that he had to send him $50,000 to cover taxes and other assorted fees.

Webster understood immediately that it was a scam. He alerted the FBI, which arrested Thomas in New York in 2017 when he stepped off his flight from Jamaica. A court convicted him and the judge have him a prison sentence of more than six years. Webster, of course, never paid Thomas, but others did. All told, Thomas succeeded in scamming hundreds of thousands of dollars from his victims.

What You Can Do

Nigerian Dating Scammers Names

The moral of the story, however, is that you too can catch someone who attempts to scam you. If you suspect that someone who contacts you is a scammer, report it to your local law enforcement authorities. If the scam involves investments or trading in stocks, bonds,forex, CFDs, binary options, or other type of financial instrument, report it to your relevantnational financial regulator.

3 Nigerian Caught In Dating Scamming In Usa 2016

But if you are the victim of a scam, know that we atMyChargeBackare on your side and are ready to assist in recovering your funds.