Don’t Fall for These Travel Scams
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When you are traveling to popular tourist hubs like Dubai, you need to be very careful about various scams. Even though the local people also fall for such things once in a while, tourists are more likely to fall prey to such tricks by fraudsters. This can leave a bad experience about the entire tour and you may lose your hard earned money for no reason. In this article, we guide you through some of the popular scams played on tourists and how you can stay away from them. Apart from that, you should also understand the importance of having travel insurance in Dubai as this will come to your rescue in times of emergency.
Let us take a look at some of the most common troublesome situations encountered by tourists in this region.
Travel Scams in Dubai
Pickpocket Scams
This is quite common in every tourist hub of the world and Dubai is no exception to this problem. It usually happens in crowded areas and tourists are more prone to such scams. For this reason, you should always be careful when you are traveling by public transport or moving around in crowded areas like shopping malls and movie halls. The simple solution you need to follow in this situation is to avoid carrying too much cash and important documents in your wallet. You should also get a good travel insurance dubai plan as this will come in handy when you have lost your valuables and important documents.
Unlicensed Taxi Scams
You can usually notice this as soon as you get out of the airport in Dubai. There are many people who approach you offering taxi services and you have to be very careful when you are choosing their services. Remember that only registered taxis are safe and you can book them even before you step out of the airport lounge. These taxis have proper meters and you will be charged the right amount for your trip. On the other hand, the unauthorized taxis usually have faulty or tampered meters and they may not be safe in some cases. There are reports of passengers getting robbed when they use such taxi services. You should also avoid boarding taxis that do not have any meters as they may charge you more than the actual amount for your trip.
Beggar Scams
You will be encountered with such scenes in many places where you can notice a woman clad in burka begging for money along with a small kid. Be aware that begging is illegal in Dubai and you should not encourage such practices when you are touring this location. In most cases, these people are out there to get easy money from tourists and they do not want to take up some work in their locality. You should ignore them and go on with your activities as giving them attention will put you in trouble. There are instances when tourists are pestered to pay these beggars.
Low-cost Jewelry Scams
Many tourists are aware of the fact that Dubai is a hub for gold jewelry and they always want to shop for some valuables during their tour. There are many scammers who take advantages of this situation and try to sell fake jewelry to tourists. You should be aware of such acts and always stay away from low cost discounted deals available with unregistered sellers. Always buy jewelry from reputed stores and make sure that you ask for the bills for your purchase.
Low-Cost Digital Gadgets Scams
Similar to the low-cost jewelry scams, many people also get fooled with the offer to own digital gadgets at very low rates. These are often sold at unauthorized shops that do not have the license to sell such products. When you fall for such scams, you will usually be shown a working model of a reputed company and when it comes to picking the actual products, they will usually sell the dummy models.
Dubai Lottery Scams
If you have recently landed in Dubai and got a new phone connection for your communication, you are likely to receive a call wishing you for winning the lottery in Dubai. The scammers say that you have won a lottery as part of purchasing the new phone number and you need to deposit some money to get the amount transferred to your account. If you pay any money to such scammers, they will immediately disappear and you will not receive any prize money. Note that there are no such lottery schemes in Dubai.
Spiked Drinks Scams
You should always be wary of strangers offering you drinks in the nightclubs and restaurants. In many cases, people fall prey to such tricks and they get robbed or molested. You should be extra careful if you are traveling alone and never get drinks from strangers. For this reason, you should always travel in groups so that you can enjoy the best of the city without any hassles.
Conclusion:
There is no need to worry about your safety when you are prepared in this manner. Make sure to use your common sense when you are approached by strangers and do not hesitate to take the help of local police. Remember that they are on the streets to protect the common public and you can approach them when you are in trouble. Do not fall for lucrative offers if they are too good to be true and always confirm them from multiple sources before buying such things from the local sellers. The most important thing you need to do is to get a good travel insurance Dubai plan as this will come to your help when you are stuck in a bad situation.
