Dubai-based Indian woman scammed while ordering viral Fix chocolate online

Nowadays, online ordering has become a routine, but if precautions aren’t taken, you can just wind up getting cheated out of loads of money, as phishing scams are on the rise these days on social media. A 34-year-old Dubai-based Indian woman experienced a similar situation when her bill of Dirham 69.5 (Rs 1,602.50) became a phishing scam of Dirham 1,836 (Rs 42,333.63).

Rasheeda Gadiwala fell victim to a phishing scam through a Facebook advertisement offering a 90 percent discount on the viral Dubai chocolate bar ‘Fix’ priced at Dirham 6.95 (Rs 160.25) during a fake United Arab Emirates (UAE) National Day sale.

As reported by Khaleej Times, Rasheeda ordered ten chocolate bars, claiming that the advertisement appeared authentic, with the same logo, and was very convincing.

However, the transaction didn’t go through and they didn’t receive an one-time password (OTP). The next morning, Dirham 1,836 was charged to their credit card, because of low limit.

This isn’t the first time a Dubai resident has been duped into purchasing the viral Dubai Fix chocolate. Earlier, a fake website posing as FIX Dessert Chocolatier has been selling crunchy, filled chocolate bars at three times the price.

On its Instagram page on August 13, Dubai’s FIX Dessert Chocolatier’s official page shared a note that reads, “To our loyal customers: We do not have a website, have a physical store, sell our bars on social media, have authorized resellers anywhere. Please beware of scammers. Self-proclaimed distributors are not storing the FIX dessert bars in the right conditions and selling them at 3x the price, taking advantage of our loyal customers.”

FIX Dessert Chocolatier is currently exclusively available in Dubai on Deliveroo, but the brand is actively working to expand its chocolate bars to other cities.

Sarah Hamouda, a Dubai-based British-Egyptian entrepreneur, started FIX Dessert Chocolatier in 2021 as a side hustle after ten years in the city.