Life savings vanish: UAE and Middle East residents scammed in ‘like-and-earn’ scheme

Life savings vanish: UAE and Middle East residents scammed in ‘like-and-earn’ scheme

Dodgy earning app Sky Media that claimed partnership with YouTube, TikTok and Facebook halts withdrawals and vanishes

File photo used for illustrative purposes

Published: Fri 16 Jun 2023, 8:55 AM

After losing his job as a cleaner in Dubai, Godfrey Mugunga, 33, found himself at the crossroads. With his back against the wall, the Rwandan took a leap of faith and entrusted his entire $2,500 (Dh9,175) savings to Sky Media, an 'earning app' that promised a way out. The offer seemed straightforward: Watch a YouTube video and earn a daily income of $35 (Dh128).

This opportunity held the potential to sustain not just Mugunga, but also his family including his infant daughter. However, what initially seemed like a hopeful lifeline soon turned out to be a devastating deception, leaving Mugunga and countless others shattered, their financial futures in ruins.

Over the past two weeks, multiple victims, like Mugunga, have shared their harrowing stories with Khaleej Times. They have detailed how they were deceived into joining Sky Media, an overseas company supposedly based in the US and engaged in social media marketing, claiming to be in partnerships with YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook.

Here's how the app is advertised:

The company's app offered a trial period to earn up