Having just returned to Dubai following an 18 months absence, I have reunited with all things I love and hate about this bustling city. The unmatched ambition of this erstwhile little-known desert pocket is still mind-blowing even by Dubai standards - and those of you who live or have visited the place can put this into context. Most of my friends are also still here, which makes it a welcoming comeback. And the emirate's social life seems to be getting more interesting with a plethora of new resaturants, cafes, bars and five star hotels opening almsot on a daily basis. Even traffic looks better following the introduction of a toll post system aimed to divert traffic from a major highway crossing the city to other road arteries circumventing the busy business and tourist trails.
But all this progress comes at a high cost - to be exact, at a personal cost of Euro 20,000. That's the amount I had to involuntarily part with as I fell victim to a highly elaborate rental scam. With Dubai being Dubai and an exponential real estate boom persisting for nearly five years now, residents are required to pay a full year's rent in advance, which I did. In my case however, the property I rented was also rented to three other individuals by the same conman who posed as the villa's legitimate owner, complete with fake paperwork and contracts!
While I have little hope of seeing this money back again, this entry - the first of my new blog - hopes to serve as a deterent to other ambitious fraudsters by alering Dubaians of what lurks beneath the city's glittering skyline. Progress at all cost means that crime Dubai-style is here and will likely stay for as long as the authorities remain reluctant to introduce rules and regulations that will clamp down con artists and other criminals.
No comments:
Post a Comment