Photo for illustrative purposes only. ARCHIVE

A 43-year-old Arab man lured an Arab woman with a Facebook advertisement claiming to own homes for rent at fair rates. The Dubai Criminal Court sentenced the man to two months in prison and fined him Dh4,800. The defendant employed a real estate broker to polish his scheme. He persuaded the broker that he was the apartment's owner and requested that he accompany the woman on a building tour to conduct an inspection. Then he instructed the victim to give the money to the building's security guard. According to the Public Prosecution Office's investigations and the case papers, the accused had thought of the fraud as a way to supplement his income. So he came up with a ruse and posted a Facebook advertisement saying that he owned houses for rent at fair rates. The victim called the defendant at the number provided in the ad because she was looking for an apartment in Dubai. The broker identified the accused as E.A. The broker agreed with her to inspect the apartment located in one of the complexes. The victim went to the apartment at the appointed time and inspected the apartment accompanied by the real estate broker. She then spoke to the accused via phone. Here, he informed her that the first payment towards the rent was Dh4,800. There was also an insurance fee of Rs1000. He then instructed her to give the building's security guard the money. Later, she returned to pick up the lease and the apartment key. The victim claimed she was expecting a call from the defendant at the appointed time but did not receive one. After hearing him promise to prepare the contract and hand it to the guard with the key, she called him. She was suspicious because he again failed to keep the appointment. She said she was taken aback when the broker called, claiming to have received a letter from the accused claiming he didn't own the apartment and that he had been mocking the victim. The victim was also told to go to the building security and reclaim her money. When she did, she was horrified to discover that the accused had left with the money and turned off his phone. Nevertheless, the watchman had snapped a picture of the accused's I.D., which aided her case. In the Public Prosecution's investigations, the building's security guard testified that he gave the accused the money. BKM/ Expat Media
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