Bahraini lawyer falls victim to fake domestic workers agency

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

A lawyer who fell victim to a fake domestic workers recruiting agency said timely action saved him from losses amounting to hundreds of dinars.

Taqi Hussein Taqi, a Bahraini lawyer, said his ordeal started with him unknowingly contacting a domestic workers hiring agency that neither had a commercial registration nor an office.

“My family members and I fell victim to this scam, but thanks to my professional experience, in the end, I managed to save myself,” he told AlAyam, our sister concern.

The ordeal begins with his family members receiving an advt on Whatsapp about a woman who arranges domestic workers for a thousand dinars.

Customers should pay 500 dinars in advance and the rest after hiring the domestic help. The advertisement turned attractive to the family as other recruitment agencies charge well around BD2,250 for bringing domestic workers and would take more than a month and a half to complete the deal.

Exacerbated by the repercussion of the COVID-19 pandemic, Taqi said they contacted the woman who transferred their call to another person.

“That person sent us a set of pictures for selecting. After selecting a worker, we transferred BD500 as demanded.”

The person told us that he had signed a contract with the father of the domestic worker and would reduce BD10 for each day for breaching the deadline for joining.

“However, when checked, I found the contract had a different signature, and it came from a different WhatsApp number. Taqi said that it was now clear that he fell victim to a scam, as “repeated calls made to the number were all left unanswered.”

“Further checking also revealed that the said agency neither had a commercial registration nor an office.

“We also found that they were using papers and photos of a registered domestic worker recruiting office, to which they had no connection. Taqi said the whole deal left his family with a loss of BD1,500. “However, I kept on ringing the number, and on a day, I was able to reach the man.

“I warned him that I would file a report with the Cybercrime Department for fraud and forgery if he fails to bring in the domestic help as agreed. Finally, when the domestic help came in, we realised that it was not the person we selected.

The worker was also not an Arabic speaker and a differently-abled person. “So, we contacted the person and asked him to bring the worker they had agreed, or process a refund.

“Ours were a narrow escape,” the lawyer said, calling on all to take extreme care in situations like this and stay clear of such scammers.