Every year there are scam artists who are very creative and innovative at the same time, especially during the months of Ramadan. In fact, it has become a trend now. Scam artists have developed a new way of collecting money, and that is by asking innocent bystanders for money to build a new mosque. Since UAE is a rich country and most people have sympathy for beggars, they usually give money and then realize that they have been cheated.

Here are the top 5 ways in which how a scam artist tricks charitable resident during the holy month of Ramadan.

1. Open wound

There are those who go out their way to prove themselves innocent. You have seen them before. And it is an even more common sight these days. The man with the long hair, uncombed, dirty clothes on with bright yellow teeth or maybe even a few missing. They wouldn’t hesitate to show you the gash that they have on their forearms or even on their ankles. Some also go out the way to self mutilate themselves and represent themselves as accident victims. While others may beg more money in order to afford medicine.

2. Fake iPhones

Then again the scam artists get even more creative. They know certain tricks don’t work in the market, hence they are always willing to change and adapt. Whatever they can do so to get money. One of the most famous ways is selling an expensive phone. Usually it is an iPhone. They would even show the receipt and the warranty services of the iPhone and claim that they have no money to pay their home rent. Some residents do fall victim when the scam artist offers them the phone for only AED 1,000. The actual cost of the phone would be AED 200 and it would be a duplicate Chinese phone. Many have been duped like this.

3. Woman with a sick child

Women also play the game of scamming innocent people. It is not just the men out there that do this. The women pose as poor mothers and have a small child by their hip as a prop. They claim that their child is sick and that they do not have any money for affording medical treatment. They also share their cell phone numbers at the same time to prove that they are innocent and that they would pay the money back later. But in all cases the number is never reachable.

4. Italian suit scam

In this case, this scam usually works with two men dressed impeccably in Italian suits. They would look very decent and very professional at the same time with good communication skills. These are the real scam artists that not a lot of people can notice easily. As they always come off as very clean gentlemen. The men would approach passerbys asking them for direction to their apparently lost flat. The direction would in most cases be redirected to Sheikh Zayed Road. They would then lead the passersby to their car, all the while posing as Italian men who have come from Italy and then offer them some expensive looking suits at a cheap price of only AED 200. When the truth is that the cloth was ripped off from someplace off the Far East.

5. Out-of-petrol Father

Another one of the infamous scams that is picking up trend is the father in a car with six kids who cannot afford petrol to reach home. He would ask innocent bystanders for an amount of AED 100 so that he can fill the gas in the tank and then head home. In most cases, the car will be an unlicensed vehicle or an out of town registered vehicle and the man will be having more money than that of those whom he approaches for money.