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Wednesday, September 2, 2026
What happened. What it means. What to do.
 

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THE LEAD
The scam now going after your fingerprints, not just your password
The scams working Dubai's expat crowd used to want your password. This one wants your face. The Consulate General of India in Dubai has flagged a new twist on the fake-agent pitch: people posing as agents for visa regularisation, exit permits, Emergency Certificates, Emirates IDs and jobs are asking workers to hand over passport, Emirates ID and biometric data, the "face, eye and fingerprint scans", in the middle of what looks like ordinary paperwork. If you or anyone who works for you ever uses an informal agent to sort documents, this is the morning to say the rule out loud, because the people most targeted are blue-collar workers who can least afford what comes next.
What makes biometrics different from a stolen password is that you cannot change your face. According to the advisory, the scans and documents can be misused to open bank accounts or take out loans and credit cards in the victim's name, leaving that person on the hook for money they never borrowed, with possible fines, travel bans, or in some cases imprisonment. A leaked password is a bad afternoon. A harvested fingerprint set is a liability that follows you to the airport.
The clean rule worth forwarding: biometric scans for exit permits, Outpasses, Emirates IDs or visa regularisation should only ever be given at official UAE government facilities and counters. The Consulate added that neither the mission in Dubai nor the Embassy in Abu Dhabi asks for fingerprint, face or eye scans to issue passports or Emergency Certificates, so anyone demanding those "in the name of the Embassy" is a fraud on that basis alone. It costs nothing to send this to the one person in your circle who still uses a walk-in agent.
WHAT TO DO

Give biometric scans only at official UAE government counters. If an "agent" asks for face, eye or fingerprint scans, stop and verify first with the Pravasi Bharatiya Sahayta Kendra on toll-free 80046342, or WhatsApp/SMS 00971543090571.
   
QUICK 3
1 Up to 40% off car rentals if you carry a Nol card
From 1 September, Nol Travel card holders get up to 40 per cent off Europcar rentals through a new RTA-Europcar partnership; it runs for a year and covers both UAE rentals and Europcar locations worldwide, redeemed by showing the card or the QR code in the Nol Pay app. The Nol Travel card is the one that already pays for Metro, bus, tram, parking and taxi fares. If you rent even occasionally, for a weekend car or an airport pickup, that is a discount most cardholders don't know is sitting there.
 
2September fuel is set, and diesel is the one that jumped
The pump numbers are confirmed from 1 September: Super 98 Dh3.8, Special 95 Dh3.69 and E-Plus 91 Dh3.61, each up 20 fils, while diesel jumped 50 fils to Dh4.3 a litre. A 60-litre fill of Special 95 now runs about Dh221.40, roughly Dh12 more than August's Dh209.40. Petrol is a rounding error at the pump, but diesel to Dh4.3 a litre is the number to watch if you drive one or rely on anything that arrives by truck.
 
3US and Iran traded strikes Tuesday; your only caveat is regional flights
The war came back into the headlines. The National reported the US and Iran "traded strikes on Tuesday," 1 September, ending a weeks-long lull, with US Central Command striking IRGC targets and Trump warning Iran of harder strikes if it retaliates. For a resident the practical picture held: schools reopened this week and DXB is running. The caveats sit at the regional edges, so if you're flying this week, check the airline before the airport, because carriers are still adjusting Kuwait and Bahrain services, and the EU aviation regulator has extended its Gulf caution to 30 September.
   
WHAT IT MEANS
The diesel line, not the petrol line, is the September story
Petrol going up 20 fils is a rounding error on a household tank. Diesel to Dh4.3 a litre is the one that quietly threads into the cost of everything that moves on a truck: grocery delivery, courier fees, ride-hail surcharges, the school-bus contracts renewing this month. The fuel line that actually moves your September budget isn't the one in your own car.
Dh1.5 billion
DUBAI'S SEPTEMBER RESET

The same week the war flared back up, Dubai put a Dh1.5 billion (about $408 million) incentive package behind its business and tourism sectors, per The National. It is the clearest read on the 'business as usual' posture: capital planning for a busy autumn, not a bunker. The economy you live in is being run on a different clock from the headlines.
TOOL OF THE DAY
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Two things worth doing before the weekend. Forward the scam rule to whoever in your circle still uses a walk-in agent, and if you carry a Nol card, check the Europcar rate before you book anything. Friday's Weekend Edition has what's actually on and bookable as the season turns, the reopenings and the picks worth the drive. Stephan
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Dubai Mornings provides general information only. Nothing here constitutes legal, financial, visa, or real estate advice. Verify all claims with official UAE sources before acting.
SOURCES

·  Indian expats warned against biometric data scams: Gulf News (Aug 31)
·  Nol card up to 40% off Europcar rentals from Sept 1: Khaleej Times (Aug 31)
·  UAE September petrol and diesel prices announced: Khaleej Times (Aug 31)
·  US and Iran trade strikes as war heats up: The National (Sep 1)
·  UAE flight update: EASA extends Gulf airspace warning to Sept 30: Gulf News (Sep 1)
·  Business as usual, UAE September reset and Dh1.5bn Dubai package: The National (Sep 1)

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