Online shopping and second-hand marketplace scams

Buying trainers, a used phone or a concert ticket online is normal, and so are the scams that come with it. A few habits about where you buy and how you pay protect both your money and your safety.

Spotting a fake shop

• Criminals copy a real store's design, logos and products and use lookalike web addresses, for example 'www.tescos-sales.com' instead of the real domain (NCSC).
• Be wary of promotions that seem too good to be true, especially in texts, emails or social media adverts. These often lead to fraudulent sites (NCSC).
• Research shops you do not know using reviews from sources you trust. If you are unsure about a link, type the shop's address yourself or search for it and look past the top result (NCSC).
• UAE authorities have warned about fake travel tickets sold through social media. Buy tickets only through official airline websites and check the booking site's address (Gulf News, 2025).

Paying safely

• The NCSC says never pay a shop by direct bank transfer. If the shop is fake, that money is usually gone.
• Card payments are easier to dispute than bank transfers. In the UK, credit cards carry extra legal protection, and debit card payments may sometimes be refunded through a chargeback (NCSC). If something goes wrong in the UAE, contact your bank quickly and ask what dispute options it offers.
• Never pay someone who insists on gift cards, cryptocurrency or a money transfer service (FTC).
• Read the OTP message from your bank before approving any online payment, and check the shop name and amount (ADCB).

Buying second-hand safely

• dubizzle says the most common scam is a buyer sending money to a seller and never hearing from them again. Scammers often claim to be abroad and ask for a deposit to them or a third party.
• Do not send money to an individual or a third party before you have seen the item. Meet in person and exchange money for the item at the same time (dubizzle).
• Listings priced far below the market value are designed to rush you. 'If it sounds too good to be true, it's probably a scam' (dubizzle).
• Meet in a busy public place in daylight, take a parent or friend, and check that the item works before paying. For a phone, check it switches on, is not locked to someone else's account and matches the photos.
• Keep chat inside the platform's own messaging rather than moving to WhatsApp, so there is a record and the platform can act on reports (dubizzle).

Selling safely: fake payment links and overpayment tricks

• A common UAE trick: a 'buyer' sends a WhatsApp or SMS that looks like it comes from dubizzle or a courier, with a link claiming they have paid and asking for your card details to 'receive' the money (dubizzle).
• You never need to enter your card details or OTP to receive money. dubizzle states it does not take payments on your behalf from buyers.
• dubizzle warns sellers to avoid WhatsApp messages about buying their product through third-party links using courier names such as Aramex and Emirates Post.
• Overpayment trick: a buyer 'accidentally' pays more than the price and asks you to send back the difference. The original payment turns out to be fake or reversed, and the money you sent is gone (FTC).
• Only hand over or post an item after you have confirmed the payment has arrived in your own account, by opening your banking app yourself (dubizzle). Use the platform's 'Hide my phone number' option when you list.

If it goes wrong

• Contact your bank straight away if you paid by card or transfer (NCSC).
• Report the advert on the platform. dubizzle asks users to use 'Report this Ad' so it can remove it and check the seller's other listings.
• Keep screenshots of the advert, chat, payment receipt and the seller's profile before they disappear.
• Report the fraud to the police. See lesson sc-08 for UAE reporting channels.