watch out for this scam on doha streets
this happened wen i stepped out of my office jus now:
a vehicle slowed down, the driver rolled down his window and called me... i went over guessin he'll b wantin directions...
he had a lady in the front seat, with a small baby on her lap, and i think there were 2 kids in the back of the suv with completely tinted windows.
he said hes coming from dubai, had done some shopping in doha.. then someone stole his wallet...and now he doesnt have any money for fuel to go back to dubai! (& etc, etc).. he signed off saying that i am like his brother, so help!
my first reaction was to dig into my pocket - for my mob to take a pic, but i'd left it at my desk...... i said sorry, go look for someone else.. he said thankyou(!) and rolled up his window and left.....
did notice that the vehicle was a sharjah registered one. it was an old GMC suv, dark metallic green/blue color.
the same had happened with a friend coupla months bak near the souk, so i knew this was a scam.
he was wearing the pakistani dress,but could well b north-indian/ afghani
so guys, watch out for such people while u r outside. the really disturbing thing was he had a lady and the kids (one on her lap!) for originality!..
Very old post why was this brought up no
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it remindes me of those filipina scamers on chat.......hmm lol
thx for warning us
Its really common with pakistanis in Hujj and Mecca also, not all the Pakistanis are like that but unfortunately i met many pakistanis like this telling different stories...
the better way is to listen to them, and try to make out whether the person is really needy or not, if you feel like u must help him, help him or let him go his way… PLEASE do not generalize...
“We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give.”
Sir Winston Churchill
I parked my car and started walking towards the sofitel, and there came a Pakistani guy and greeted us.. He was going to begin some story and my friend with me started talking with him in punjabi.. "hey u are so and so" and that guy responded yeah and didnt continue his story...
Then I commented, errrr why were we stopped initially by u? Then he said your friend knws my story. And then we greeted him and moved away. My friend then told me that he lives near his area.. (Old Al Ghanim)and asks people money(help) bcoz his grandmother is sick in Pakistan.. :( Good I was with this friend of mine so, I didnt have to listen his false story (probably be true).
3 days later I found him behind Bashir radi(on the way to one of my friends place) and I found him... I approached him and said HI! and asked him how is everything? He said everything is ok.. And then I asked him where he lived. (just to confirm) and he goes saying "I live in AZIZIYA" And then I greet him BBye.., And said to myself, "Woooo!! He is a cheat!!"
too bad...
"Even if LOVE is full of thorns, embrace it. For in between those thorns there is a ROSE that's worth all the PAIN."
Another type of scam i have noticed is that peope (i guess mostly
were pakistanis) walks into offices in Doha and requests money saying
they are short of money to buy tickets and stuck in doha with family
etc etc
i did help a couple of times and later
seeing the amount of people approaching in our office, i stopped. Maybe
some people who are truly in need of money doesnt get help due to these
fraud guys
YOU DONT KNOW ME, DONT EVEN TRY !!!
Its not how nice the person to us... but how nice we are to that person...
Live and Die with DIGNITY!
-JaYTeR-
Its just a matter of 50 or 100 riyals.
You have given it with good intentions. ( even if the guy had fooled you )
If you help some one, when you are in trouble some one will come to help you too.. You might think it as co-incidence.
who is the new prey?
I know its a scam and all but everyone that has given money thinking they are doing the right thing have done a good deal and should feel pleased with themselves for being charitable. Its the thieving buggers that should feel awful and they'll rot in Hell anyway...so its not all bad....
Something similar happened to me few months back. I was in Hilal area behind Kaarama when this guy claiming to be a Saudi, with a vehcile registered in Saudi asked for money.
It could have been a scam but I gave him QR 50, as a help.
Cheers anyways
thanks for the info..
mmm..always stay open minded..
It is a coincidence that i only read this thread just now. I had just met a man with his family last night near LeNotre.
He was riding a Crown Victoria, and the plate number wasn't Doha. He said, "I'm from Muscat, Oman, do you know where that is?" "I'm in a very bad position, because my wife lost her bag" While talking, I caught glance of the old lady beside him looking a bit upset. "I don't have petrol on my way back, so please help us." Without hesitation, grabbed my wallet and pulled 100 riyals amongst the roll of 1's and 5's. I was quite shy that I didn't had big bucks in my wallet. I was thinking, WOW, i did a real good turn today...
I keep worrying how will they manage with only 100 riyals.... now, i'm saddened by this thread. knowing that they FOOLED me!!!
I hope they will stop it soon, because one day, a real person in need will come a long, and NO ONE, NOT A SINGLE SOUL would believe in him.
How sad.... i can hear violins in the air.
Hey buddy you are SOL with American southerN accent!
Watch their face in confusion. If he ask you what is that? You tell them S..H..I..T.. OUT OF LUCK!
The Red Pope of Qatar Living
Egomania goes with the territory of decoding your own genome.
Am not sure if this is the same family,but I too witnessed this some time back in front of food palace, his story was he came from oman to see his brother here and to his bad luck they travelled to pakistan and he is now no where to stay and no petrol to go back too.
He too had a lady in front with a baby and 2kids at the back but the vehicle was an old mazda greyish colour..
Not sure if this is new business like the email scam that you won 1million dollars in nigeria and ...........
Joe
Why can't they think of something more respectable ideas to earn money? Why do they have to use their kids to do things like this? it's really a worldwide scam and not only here. Caring people tend to help these people for sympathy and pity for the kids.... I hope they learn that this kind of scam are not really good for the next generation that they are using to fool people.
it happened to me a few yrs ago back home, this guy claiming to have lost his wallet wanted some money for a bus ticket back to his home town .me being too sympathetic gave him the equivalent of QR50 and wat did i get in return??he verbally abused me for giving him that amt which according to him by looking at the car i was driving i could surely afford to give him more>the nerve of him! well i just told him 'beggars cant be choosers'..........hehhehehehehhehe>ME BAD
ofcourse its scam...the same happend to us.one man with his wife and kid stopped car and told his cards,money everything was kept in his wifes hand bag and somebody has stolen it.he was asking money for fuel.my husband told him to report the incident to police.the car was having dubai numberplate.this is very common nowadays.
Good point, as there are many more shops in Dubai and it is cheaper.
What happens if any car doesnt stop..
Or is it they do not leave any space on the road for the car to pass through ?
..**.. ""They walk among us. They vote & they even reproduce"" ..**..
there are some girls that park there cars on the highways... (very dangerous), and then start walking, all the while trying to flag down cars.... when you stop, they tell you that their car ran out of petrol.. please can you give them some money and they will give it back to you... but the names and numbers they give you are false...
The local Radio station warns about them now.... when they are spotted, someone calls the radio station and lets them know and its broadcasted... have no idea why no one has called the cops on them...
It seems to be a worldwide "phenomenon.....:-)
That scam is a very old one.
The prey on caring people.
Happened once many many years ago when I was in my father's office at King Koil. Some guy came in from Oman saying that he had come on a visit and lost all his money blah blah. Gave him 200 Riyals and asked him not to come back again and that we'll be telling neighbouring stores.
__________________________
Around 12:30 pm yesterday
well i guess v met the same person...wen ws it? my office is at mughalina, and this happened around 2-30, 3 PM
"Life is Fragile, Handle With Prayer"
I met this man yesterday at Q-Tel Musherieb, with Sharjah number plate and GMC suv, and same story. Its a scam, had many experiences in KSA
it happened with me too 2-years back! and yah in KSA it's very common!
The same type of scam is rather common in Saudi Arabia. Experienced it many times when I was living in Jeddah.
it happened to us, but he said he was from Kuwait and didn't have enough money to get home. He was parked outside FFC in Matar Qadeem.
btw. we did give him money and then after our shopping, as soon as we came out of the store, they came out of their car and started asking for more.
It is easy to assume that it was a scam. But it is challenging to prove so. There are many people who travel within the Khaleej with thier cars and families. It is not a big deal. The chances that this was a scam is very rare because the reason why you think this is a scam is very weak. However It could've been a scam because you never know what lies beneath every politician's pakistani dress or plain suit.
P.S I hope you jotted down the number of the car.
We come spinning out of nothingness, scattering stars like dust - Rumi
Unfortunately, I have to agree this is probably a scam. The first time I had a similar experience was in NYC years ago. Then it happened numerous times in Montreal. I wonder if it's the same guys? ;)
I agree with xena.....certainly a scam! ........Lousy Liar
has happened to me three times in the United States. They usually hang around an outside ATM and say their wallet was stolen or their car battery is dead and they only need enough to get gas or a new battery. It's definitely a scam!
its wondering
It is the scam indeed, also happened to us in Muscat, Oman. And strikingly similar story. But the guy was in sedan with his wife fully covered in abayah and three kids on back seat. Can't state his nationality here but he was not a north-indian for sure.
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he might be telling truth???? who knows dont say like this to others
anyone come shopping in Doha from Dubai? Scam indeed....
that scam been around for few years now. Not sure wether the same people doing it or few people doing the same tricks.
..**.. ""They walk among us. They vote & they even reproduce"" ..**..