A Dubai-based chef is the latest to fall for a scam previously exposed by Khaleej Times, losing around Dh10,000 on what he thought would be a casual date arranged through a dating app.
Blake (name changed on request), a 39-year-old European expat, said he matched with a Russian woman on Bumble on Friday (September 19) morning. Within hours, the conversation moved to WhatsApp, where she messaged him from an overseas number and suggested they meet at a bar inside a Business Bay hotel that same evening.
“It was too quick, but I wasn’t complaining. We agreed to meet at 9.30pm, and when I arrived, she was already waiting,” he recalled.
What followed, Blake said, felt orchestrated. “I ordered a drink, but she said she was hungry and ordered a fruit platter and salmon. Then came several rounds of drinks. For someone so petite, I was surprised at her capacity. That should’ve been a red flag.”
Barely half an hour into their date, a couple reportedly appeared at their table with bouquets, urging Blake to buy one for his companion. “I grudgingly agreed. When the bill arrived, I nearly fell off my chair: Dh9,800, including Dh500 for that miserable bouquet,” he said.
With his UAE bank card declining, Blake said it took him almost an hour to settle the bill via a Revolut transfer. “I even asked if she had any money, but she just shook her head,” he said. His date, he added, showed no remorse, said she wanted to go home, and left.
The next day, she messaged him thanking him for the evening and suggested they meet again.
“Once bitten, twice shy, I blocked her,” Blake said. Later, while searching online, he came across Khaleej Times investigations that had exposed the same racket following the exact same pattern.
Embarrassed and frustrated, he confronted the bar’s management the next day. “When I threatened to report them, they offered me a partial refund. But if the charges were legitimate, why would they offer to refund anything?” he asked.
Blake isn’t alone. Over the past few weeks, several readers have written to Khaleej Times describing similar experiences, many involving the same Business Bay venue.
One long-term Dubai resident said he was lured to the same bar after a woman he met on Bumble. She ordered platters, Blue Label shots, and shisha worth thousands of dirhams.
“When I tried to leave, security followed me. The manager shoved a Dh2,750 bill at me and said, ‘If you’re leaving, you settle this.’ After a heated argument, I agreed to pay Dh670. The manager then claimed the woman had “bank transferred” the rest without showing proof. They just wanted me out because I had realised it was a scam,” he said, adding that he has reported the matter to Dubai Police.
In another case, DK, a resident who ran up a Dh5,430 bill at a club in DIFC, told Khaleej Times he has submitted a complaint with the Consumer Protection Department after being pressured to settle charges for items he said he never ordered.
Online forums like Reddit are also filled with stories of people recounting how they were lured into nightclubs and left with exorbitant bills. Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism has so far declined to comment on the issue.
An ongoing racket
In previous reports (August last year), Khaleej Times revealed how women with fake Tinder and Bumble profiles lure men to specific nightclubs. Once there, they order overpriced drinks and platters, sometimes involving staff to pressure the target. Patrons are left footing bills.
When Khaleej Times had earlier approached the management of the Business Bay hotel bar, they said they had contracted external agencies who work with women to upsell and boost revenue through upgrades and add-ons.
The management distanced itself from responsibility but promised to start alerting guests whenever their bills exceeded Dh1,500.
Industry insiders say such scams are fuelled by commissions. “It’s evident that these women get a cut for inflating bills,” a hospitality professional explained. “It’s an old trick from parts of Europe and the Far East now making its way into Dubai.”
For Blake, the ordeal is a cautionary tale. “I’ve learned my lesson the hard way. What I thought would be a fun night turned into the most expensive date of my life.”
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