The Dubai Misdemeanours Court has sentenced an Asian man to jail after he was found guilty of possessing Dh2,000 obtained through an online rental scam.
The case originated in March when a victim, also Asian, responded to an online ad for an apartment supposedly available for rent. After transferring Dh2,000 as a reservation deposit via Facebook, the victim met the suspect in Dubai’s Al Satwa area, only for the man to later switch off his phone and block him on WhatsApp and Facebook.
The court convicted him of possessing proceeds from electronic fraud and imposed a custodial sentence.
Investigators confirmed the listing was fraudulent, created solely to deceive potential tenants. Police traced the bank transfer and arrested the man, who had been using a fake profile to post photos of luxury apartments at attractive prices to lure unsuspecting renters.
