A few days ago, a lady shifting countries decided to sell some items online through Dubizzle. The buyer sent her a link, claiming that the money would be transferred once she clicks on it. They also added that they would schedule a FedEx delivery for the product.

The link took her to the FedEx page, where she was asked to type in her bank details. Shortly after inserting a verification code, she lost AED 2000.

This is not an isolated incident.

Dubizzle has been receiving several scam alerts in the past year and has been issuing warnings to all its users- they will never ask for your card details via SMS or WhatsApp.

So if you come across these messages- please ignore them!

The only way to deal with escalating cybercrime is by being vigilant, and reporting any suspicious activity

In an exclusive statement to Lovin Dubai, Dubizzle added that any communications off their platform have a higher chance of being a scam. They further advised that users stick to the Dubizzle chats.

On our platform, the best practice for our clients is to use the ‘Dubizzle chat’ feature and communicate through our secure source with the seller or the buyer. When customers take conversations to WhatsApp or phone calls it will remove the layer of security and expose them to many potential scams.

The most common scams so far have been: 

Image via Dubizzle

Users should keep these points in mind to stay safe from scams

Dubizzle has also shared some ways to stay safe, these are:

• Scrutinize all URLs- Most scammers will create a copy of the original website with slight variations in the URL to trick vulnerable customers.
• Keep your conversations on the platforms as much as possible- Moving away from the platform removes that layer of security.
• Stay away from external money transfers- If someone is asking you to pay for something through wire transfers and so on, be extra careful. Do not engage with the links that are being sent.
• Conduct research on the information given by a person- Take some time to investigate the number they are calling you from or the company names that they are using. Call those companies yourself and ask them about the information you just received from the scammer before giving any financial details.
• Block and report any suspicious users

Dubizzle is currently working on improving their security features

If you or anyone you know has been scammed in a similar nature while using Dubizzle, please get in touch with them and alert them. The more information they receive, the better equipped they are to deal with these issues.

Currently, the online platform is undertaking the following measures for safety:

• Emirates post awareness campaign
• Pet organization campaign called “Trusted by dubizzle”
• Social media awareness
• Developing products within their tech such as giving customers the option to hide their mobile number and use dubizzle chat feature instead, push notification warnings, and pop-up messages in both Arabic and English language.

Read more on their website here.