Dubai Police arrest man over electrical repairs scam

Hundreds of customers were swindled out of cash for repair work that was never carried out

The suspect arrested by officers in Dubai claimed he was the legal representative of three international companies. Chris Whiteoak / The National

A man has been arrested in Dubai over a scam in which hundreds of customers were duped out of cash for repairs to electrical appliances that were never completed.

Police said the Asian man - whose age was not disclosed - claimed to be a representative of three major companies which specialise in fixing and selling electrical goods.

He is said to have set up three websites to advertise his services and worked with a female accomplice who posed as his assistant and booked appointments.

The woman was also arrested.

Police were alerted after disgruntled victims discovered their appliances had not been fixed.

“We received a number of reports from residents who said they have been victims of an Asian man who claimed to be an agent for a number of brands in the UAE specialised in selling and repairing electrical appliances,” said Col Saeed Al Hajri, director of Dubai Police's Cybercrime Department.

“They said he used three websites to advertise his services.”

Officers checked the websites and contacted the legitimate representatives of the companies, who were unaware of the scheme.

The man was located and arrested at his home in Dubai, where police found 600 receipts issued to customers stashed in a washing machine.

A laptop and a number of mobile phones were seized.

Police said during questioning that the man admitted a friend had created fake websites using the logos of the three companies, which the force did not name.

The force did not say how long the frauds continued before the man was arrested.