Pakistanis warned to beware of booking fake flights home
Fraudsters pretending to be consulate officials or travel agents continue to prey on Pakistani citizens in the UAE by offering fake airline tickets for sale, an official said.
Ahmed Amjad Ali, Pakistan’s consul general in Dubai, is advising citizens of his country against paying for repatriation flights online and said con artists were finding new ways to trick people stranded in the UAE during the pandemic.
“I want to highlight that we have received several complaints that there are scam artists pretending to be consulate officials and travel agents,” Mr Ali said yesterday.
“They are asking citizens to make online payments, but please beware that these people are lying and are trying to con you. Please be careful of these people.
“Do not make any online payments. When the consulate calls you, you will be asked to go to the Pakistan International Airlines counter in person and pay there. The ticket has the government-approved price on it.”
These con artists reach out to people on social media, instant messaging platforms or emails saying they have received a repatriation request from the would-be victim, give them a false date and price and trick the victim into buying it. But genuine tickets are available only at PIA counters.
Once a person receives a confirmation call from the consulate, further instructions are given on the place where the citizen must go to make the purchase in person.
“We are not accepting any online payments, so please do not make any transfers,” Mr Ali said.
As of April 18, 7,340 Pakistanis have been sent back from the UAE on 37 special flights, more of which are scheduled.
The consulate had received 63,000 requests from Pakistanis who wanted to return home, The National reported this month. Eleven more flights were set to depart from the UAE until Sunday, a schedule released by the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resources Development showed.
Mr Ali said some people had arrived at the airports with fake tickets, unaware they had fallen victim to fraudsters.
Most people on the repatriation list had been made redundant or were jobseekers who had arrived as tourists.