Property Scams in Dubai: 8 Most Common Scams, How to Avoid Them and Red Flags to Check

Property Scams in Dubai in 2026

Here are the red flags to check, the eight most common scams and how to avoid each one, the four free checks, and what to do if you have already paid.

Start with the red flags. If you notice any one of these, stop and check before you pay anything:

1. The price is far below the market.
2. Someone asks for money before a viewing or a contract.
3. The advert has no official QR code.
4. You are told to pay an agent or a person, and not the owner or the project.
5. The developer has not confirmed your receipts to you.
6. The seller is not the name on the title deed, or signs for the owner.
7. A company that is not the owner wants a full year of rent upfront.
8. You are promised a profit or a visa, but nothing will be registered in your name.

Each red flag comes from one of the eight scams below, in the same order. If you only want the checks that clear them, go straight to the Protect Yourself section further down.

Is It Safe to Buy Property in Dubai?

Yes, it is safe to buy property in Dubai, as long as the sale goes through the official register and you pay the party that register names. The register belongs to the Dubai Land Department, which everyone calls the DLD. It is the government office that records who owns every home in Dubai.

A sale of a finished home ends at a DLD trustee office, which is an approved centre that registers sales. There you hand over a cheque issued by your bank, and the DLD issues a title deed in your name. Dubai law gives that register "absolute evidentiary value against all parties". So a scammer can rarely get into it, and has to reach you earlier. In almost every case below, the money was gone before the DLD had recorded anything.

Common Dubai Real Estate Scams, With a Real Case for Each

These are the eight scams you are most likely to meet. For each one you'll see how it feels from your side as it happens, a case where it really happened in Dubai, and what to do at that moment.

Scam #1. Fake Property Listings in Dubai

A fake listing is an advert for a home that the advertiser does not own, at a price low enough to make you hurry. From your side, it goes like this:

1. You see a home on social media or a property website, at a price well below anything similar.
2. You message the seller, who answers quickly and sends ownership papers that look official.
3. The seller asks you to send some money now, to hold the home at this price.
4. Once you pay, the replies stop, or the seller asks for more.

This happened in Dubai in January 2023. Two men advertised discounted homes on social media and showed buyers fake ownership documents. Thirteen buyers reported them within two days, and nearly AED 2 million was involved.

Those buyers were lucky in one way. Because they reported so fast, Dubai Police stopped the money at exchange houses before it left the country (The National, 21 January 2023).

So when someone asks you to pay to "hold" a home, don't. Do these two things first:

• Write back: "Please send me the QR code or permit number of this advert, and a copy of the title deed."
• Run the listing check and the title deed check, which are both explained further down.

Scam #2. Fake Landlords and Rental Deposits

This is the same trick, aimed at tenants, and it usually goes like this:

1. You find a flat at a low rent in a good area, often on Facebook Marketplace or Dubizzle.
2. The person who answers says they are the landlord, or the landlord's agent.
3. They ask for a small payment before you have seen the flat. They may call it a booking deposit, a documentation fee or a goodwill payment.
4. You pay, the viewing is put off, and then the phone number stops working.

This happened in Dubai in 2025. Tenants told Khaleej Times they had lost AED 300, AED 500, AED 1,000 and AED 2,800 this way, and one "agent" collected AED 21,200 from six women in a single month (Khaleej Times, 1 July 2025). In June 2025, Dubai Police arrested a person who had posed as a landlord to take deposits (Gulf News, 29 June 2025).

A contract that looks real does not help you here. In March 2026, Dubai Police warned that these adverts use stolen photos, fake agency names and forged contracts. So if you are asked for money before a viewing, this is what to do:

• Say: "I will pay nothing before I view the flat and see the title deed."
• Scan the QR code on the advert, and check the agent's RERA card. Both checks are explained further down.
• After the viewing, write the rent cheques only in the owner's name, as it appears on the title deed.
• Ask for the tenancy to be registered in Ejari, which is Dubai's official register of rental contracts.

Scam #3. The Agent Who Asks You to Pay Into Their Own Account

In this one the home may be completely real. What is wrong is where your money goes, and you can see it happen step by step:

1. An agent shows you a home or a new project, and tells you that you must reserve it today.
2. You are asked to write the cheque in the agent's name, or to transfer the money to the agent's company.
3. The sale contract is promised "in a few days".
4. The contract doesn't come, and your money is with someone who never owned the home.

This happened in Dubai, and a court ruled on it in 2025. Two buyers gave a broker a cheque for AED 3,990,000 to reserve and buy a unit, and never received a sale contract. They went to court in September 2024, and a Dubai civil court ordered the broker and a development company to repay AED 3,299,555, plus 5% (Gulf Today, 2 March 2025).

The moment to act is when you are told whose name goes on the cheque:

• Ask in writing: "In whose name is this cheque, and why?"
• On a resale, expect the answer to be the seller. The deposit cheque is usually written to the seller, and the agent only holds it.
• If the answer is the agent or the agent's company, do not pay.

Scam #4. Forged Receipts for a Unit That Is Not Yours

Here the building and the developer are real, but your purchase exists only on forged paper. It goes like this:

1. An agent offers you a unit in a well-known project.
2. You sign a reservation form and a contract, both with the developer's name on them.
3. You pay the agent in instalments, and after each one you get a stamped receipt.
4. You wait for the handover, and nothing happens, because the developer never received your money.

This happened in Dubai in 2015. A buyer paid an estate agent AED 7.7 million in three instalments for a hotel unit near Burj Khalifa. He found out only in 2018, when he contacted the developer himself and was told the papers were all fake. By then the agent had left the country (Gulf News, 27 October 2020).

Here is that case, year by year:

Three years passed between the payment and the truth. So before your first payment:

• Call the developer on a number from its own website, and ask: "Is unit X in project Y reserved in my name, and which account do I pay?"
• Run the developer and project check, which is explained further down.
• Pay only into the project's escrow account. This is a protected bank account that is opened for that one project.

Scam #5. Forged Title Deeds and Fake Owners

In this scam the seller shows you the one paper you were told to ask for, a title deed. The trouble is that the deed is forged, or the person is not the owner. It goes like this:

1. The seller shows you a title deed, on paper or on a phone.
2. When you ask for the original, it is with a relative, or the seller says they are signing for the owner.
3. You sign a simple first contract and begin to pay, often in instalments.
4. The transfer at the trustee office is delayed again and again, because it can never happen.

This happened in Dubai in 2020. A woman showed a buyer a forged title deed for a villa and took AED 657,000 in instalments, saying that her sister held the original. A Dubai court jailed her for one year (Gulf Today, 29 September 2020).

It has been tried on a much larger scale too. In a case from 2018, prosecutors said a woman posed as the owner of two Palm Jumeirah plots, which were sold for AED 27 million (Gulf News, 30 September 2019). We could not find that verdict. So before you pay any part of the price:

• Ask for a copy of the deed and the seller's passport or Emirates ID. The names must match.
• Run the title deed check yourself. It is explained further down.
• Pay the price only by a bank cheque in the owner's name, at the trustee office on the day of the transfer.

Scam #6. Power of Attorney Misuse

A power of attorney is a legal paper that lets another person sign for you, and many owners who live abroad use one. The danger is in what the paper allows. This is how it goes wrong:

1. You give someone a power of attorney for one job, such as collecting rent or managing repairs.
2. The paper is written more widely than you realised, or it is changed without your knowledge.
3. The person uses it to sell your home, or to keep money that is yours.
4. You find out months or years later.

This happened in Dubai over about four years. A broker held a power of attorney to manage an owner's rentals and kept AED 471,000 of the rent, until the owner's accountant noticed. A court jailed him for six months (Gulf Today, 5 January 2025).

Two other cases show how far it can go:

• In a 2019 case, prosecutors said an agent had a paper for redecoration only. They said he used a forged, wider one to sell a AED 17 million villa at half its value. We could not find the verdict (Gulf News, 7 September 2019).
• In 2026, a Dubai court upheld the sale of a family home, because the power of attorney allowed a sale (Gulf News, 10 April 2026). Nobody had forged anything.

That second case is the one to remember, because a court will enforce the paper as it is written. So before you sign one:

• Read the list of powers line by line.
• Ask the lawyer: "Does this paper allow a sale, a gift or a mortgage?" If you do not want that, have those words removed.
• Name one property and one task.
• If the paper is for collecting rent, check the account the rent goes into.

Scam #7. Rent-to-Rent Companies That Take a Year of Rent

This scam has hurt more people at one time than any other on the list, and both tenants and owners lose. It goes like this:

1. A company rents flats from their owners, and promises them a rent above the market, paid by post-dated cheques.
2. It offers the same flats to tenants at a rent below the market.
3. The low rent has one condition: you pay the whole year in a single cheque.
4. The company closes, the owner's cheques are not honoured, and the owner wants the flat back.

This is why it always fails:

The company promises owners more than it collects from tenants, so it can only keep going while new tenants keep paying upfront.

This happened in Dubai in 2021. Evernest Holiday Homes Rental shut its office at the end of December that year. More than 230 tenants had paid about AED 30 million, by the newspaper's count, and each lost between AED 60,000 and AED 145,100 (Khaleej Times, January 2022).

Dubai's tenancy law is on your side if you use it before you pay. It says a tenant may not sublet "unless written consent of the Landlord is obtained". So ask the company for three papers:

• the title deed, in the owner's name
• the owner's written consent for this company to sublet
• a tenancy registered in Ejari

Scam #8. Guaranteed Returns and Golden Visa Promises

In the last scam you do not buy a home at all, although it is sold to you as a property investment. It goes like this:

1. Someone offers you a fixed profit, a buy-back or a visa.
2. You sign a private agreement, and you may be given post-dated cheques as security.
3. The first payments arrive, or you are told that the visa is "in process".
4. The payments stop, and you hold no title deed and no registered contract.

This happened in Dubai, and a court ruled on it in 2026. An investor paid AED 4.35 million in cash for a property that one man claimed to own, with a Golden Visa promised. No sale ever took place, and a Dubai court ordered two men to pay him AED 4.65 million (Emirates 24/7, 8 September 2026).

It is an old pattern. In a 2009 case a man took AED 20.225 million on a promise of 30% after six months, and in 2025 a court ordered a broker to repay AED 4,057,815 to two people he had promised 9% and 6%. Here are the three cases side by side:

One question protects you from all of them. Ask it in writing: "What will be registered in my name at the Dubai Land Department, and on what date?"

There are only two good answers: a title deed, or an Oqood certificate, which is the DLD's proof of purchase for a home that is not built yet. Our guide to the Golden Visa through property explains how the real visa route works.

Protect Yourself

All eight scams depend on you paying before you check. So the protection is simple: check first. The DLD runs four free official checks, and you can do all of them on your phone. The timing matters, because a property deal has three stages and the money goes missing in the first two:

To get ready, install Dubai REST, which is the DLD's own app. All four checks are in it, and most are also on the DLD's website, dubailand.gov.ae. Then do the checks in this order, because each one builds on the one before:

How to Check a Property Listing

The first thing to find out is whether the advert itself is real. Dubai makes this easy. Since 24 April 2023, the DLD has required a QR code on property adverts. A broker gets that code with a DLD advert permit, and to get the permit the broker must show a marketing contract with the owner. So a genuine code means a real owner agreed to the advert.

Here is how to check it:

1. Find the QR code on the advert. It is a small square pattern of black and white dots, placed on the advert itself.
2. Scan it with your phone. Open your phone's camera, point it at the code, and tap the link that appears on the screen.
3. Read the record that opens. The DLD says the record shows the advertising company and the property's details, and whether the home has already been sold or rented.
4. Compare the record with the advert. The company must be the one you are talking to, and the home must be the one in the advert.

What if the advert has no code? Ask the agent: "Please send me the permit number for this advert." Then open the DLD service called Verify License and Permits, on the website or in Dubai REST. Log in, select the service, enter the details the form asks for, and submit.

You can go ahead when the record shows the same company and the same home, and the home is not marked as sold or rented. Stop if:

• there is no QR code and the agent cannot give you a permit
• the record shows a different company
• the record shows a different home, or one that is already sold or rented

How to Check a Real Estate Agent in Dubai

Once the advert is real, check the person. Anyone can print a business card, so what you want is the agent's RERA card. RERA is the DLD's regulator, and it gives each licensed agent an electronic card with its own number.

1. Ask the agent for the number. Say: "Please send me your RERA card number and the name of your brokerage."
2. Open Dubai REST and log in. This check works only in the app, not on the website.
3. Select the service called Ecard Verification.
4. Select the card type, then enter the card number that the agent sent you.
5. Read what the app shows. Compare the name and the company with the person you are dealing with, and with the company on the advert.

For a second check, open Licensed Real Estate Brokers on the DLD website or in the app. It is the list of brokers that RERA has licensed.

You can go ahead when the card is found, and the name and company match the person and the advert. Stop if:

• the number is not found
• the name on the card is different
• the agent will not send you a number

How to Check a Developer and a Project

If the home is not built yet, there is no title deed to look at. So you check the project, and you do it even when the developer is famous. In the AED 7.7 million case above, the developer was real and the receipts were not.

This check gives you two things: proof that the project is registered with the DLD, and the one bank account that your money is allowed to go to.

1. Check the company. Open the DLD service called Licensed Developers, and look for the developer's name.
2. Open Project Status Enquiry. On the DLD website or in Dubai REST, choose "Information Services", and then the Project Status Enquiry service.
3. Search for the project. Enter the project name, the project number or the land number. Any one of the three will do.
4. Read the project page. The service gives the completion percentage and the project's details. When we opened a project on 1 October 2026, the page also showed its status and an "Escrow Account" tab.
5. Write down the escrow account. The tab shows the name of the bank and the account number. You will compare this with the payment details the developer sends you.

If you prefer, you can ask on WhatsApp. Save the DLD's number, 8004488, and chat with its virtual assistant.

You can go ahead when the project is listed and active, and the escrow account matches what the developer sent you. Stop if:

• the project is not found
• the project is shown as cancelled
• the account number is different from the one you were given

How to Check a Title Deed

For a finished home, the title deed is the paper everything rests on, and Scam #5 showed that it can be forged. So never accept a deed because it looks right. The DLD will tell you whether it is valid. Do this before you pay a deposit.

1. Ask the seller or the agent for a copy of the title deed. You need it in front of you for the next steps.
2. Open the DLD service called Verify Title Deed. It is on the DLD website and in Dubai REST.
3. Log in and enter the details from the deed. Keep the copy in front of you, because the form asks for details that are printed on it.
4. Read the answer. The DLD says the result is immediate.
5. Compare the names. The owner named on the deed must be the person who is selling to you. Ask to see their passport or Emirates ID.

You can go ahead when the service confirms the deed and the owner's name matches the seller's ID. Stop if:

• the service does not confirm the deed
• the names do not match
• the seller says the original is "with someone else"

Should You Pay? A Three-Question Test

Now you have done the checks, the decision to pay comes down to three questions. If the answer to any one of them is "No", don't pay.

When all three answers are "Yes", pay in a way that leaves a bank record, and only to the party that an official record names. How you pay depends on what you are paying for:

• A home that is not built yet. Transfer the money to the project's escrow account, using the number from the DLD record.
• A finished home. Ask your bank for a manager's cheque in the owner's name. This is a cheque the bank issues itself, after it takes the money from your account. Hand it over only at the trustee office.
• Rent. Write the cheques to the owner named on the title deed.

Never pay in cash, and never pay into a person's own bank account.

If you are buying from abroad, ask someone independent to do these checks with you. Our guide to conveyancing in Dubai explains who can do that, and our guide to buying property in Dubai from the UK covers buyers who cannot visit.

Dubai Off-Plan Scams

Off-plan means a home that is sold before it is built, and our guide explains what off-plan property is. It needs extra care for a simple reason: you pay for years before there is a home to see. Two rules keep you safe:

1. Pay only the escrow account that is named in the DLD record.
2. If no Oqood certificate arrives, stop paying.

Here is how to follow them:

1. Check the project. Use Project Status Enquiry, as shown above. A sale made before the project is registered with the DLD is "null and void", and in June 2024 the DLD fined three developers AED 500,000 each for marketing unregistered projects.
2. Get the payment details in writing. Ask the developer for the escrow account's name, bank and number.
3. Compare them with the DLD record before every payment. If the account number is different, do not pay. Ask the developer and the DLD first.
4. Ask for your Oqood certificate. Oqood is the DLD's register for homes that are not built yet. The developer must register your contract there within 90 days of signing.

This is the only path your money should take:

Notice that no agent appears on that path. An agent may sell you an off-plan home, but may not hold the price, and the rule says so directly.

“A broker "may not deposit the price into his own account or deduct his commission from that price before depositing it".”

Executive Council Resolution No. 6 of 2010, Article 12

The Oqood certificate matters just as much. Under Dubai law, an off-plan sale that is not entered in that register is void. So if 90 days pass and you have no certificate, write to the developer: "Please send me the Oqood certificate for unit X." Make no further payment until you have it.

For how each protection works, read our guides to the escrow account in Dubai and to Oqood in Dubai. For the full purchase, read how to buy off-plan property in Dubai.

Dubai Property Scams and Complaints: What to Do if It Happens

If you have already paid, what matters most now is speed. In the January 2023 case, the police got the money back because the buyers reported within two days. So do the first three steps below on the same day.

1. Call your bank's fraud line. Say: "I have been defrauded. I sent AED X to this account on this date. Please try to stop or recall the payment, and give me a reference number." If you paid by cheque, ask the bank if it can still be stopped.
2. Collect your proof. You need the advert, the full chats, the receipts, any contract, and your bank statement or proof of transfer. Add a copy of your Emirates ID or passport. Do not crop the screenshots, because dates, names and account numbers matter.
3. Report to Dubai Police. It is free. You can call 901, or use one of the two online routes described below. Save the reference number.
4. Tell the developer or the real owner. Ask them to confirm in writing that the papers did not come from them.
5. Complain to the DLD, if a licensed agent, a broker or a real estate company was involved.
6. Speak to a lawyer if the amount is large. A court can order the person to repay you.

How to report to Dubai Police online

Dubai Police gives you two ways to report online. If the scam reached you online, for example through an advert, social media or a messaging app, use the first. Otherwise use the second.

After you submit, the portal shows about four working days for the service. That is not how long the investigation takes. The police may contact you by SMS or phone, and may ask you to bring the original papers to the station. If they find a case, they can send the file to the Public Prosecution.

Which office in Dubai handles which property complaint

The police deal with the fraud itself. Three other offices deal with the rest, and each one handles a different kind of problem:

• The DLD takes complaints about a licensed agent or company that broke the rules, for example with a false advert. It says it acts within five working days. It does not order refunds, and it does not look at contracts that are more than six months old.
• The Dubai Courts can order the person to repay you.
• The Rental Disputes Center handles disputes over rent and sublets.

We don't repeat those procedures here. Our guide to filing a RERA complaint in Dubai takes you through the DLD complaint field by field, and it covers the courts and the Rental Disputes Center with their fees and timing.

Here is the whole path, with the time each step takes:

What you can expect to get back

The honest answer is that you may get your money back, but nobody can promise it. It depends on three things:

• How fast you report. In the January 2023 case, the police stopped the money before it left the country.
• Whether the person is still in the UAE. In the AED 7.7 million case, the agent had left.
• Whether the person has money or assets. A court order is a right to be paid. It is not the payment itself.

Courts do rule for victims. In three of the cases in this guide, Dubai courts ordered the money back with 5% interest.

If you paid from a bank outside the UAE, call that bank on the same day too. One thing is not clear for people abroad. The eCrime form asks for an Emirates ID number, and we could not confirm how a person without one files online. And in the UK, the bank refund scheme for transfer scams does not cover international payments.

For the whole purchase from start to finish, with these checks in their place, read our guide to buying property in Dubai.