Lost wallet in Dubai returned within an hour, viral post sparks praise: ‘Respect for honesty and system’

Dubai has been ranked the second safest city in the world, according to Numbeo’s list — and a viral post on social media is now being cited as a real-life example of why.

Sharing his experience on X, user Alok Tiwari recounted how he lost his wallet while travelling in a cab in Dubai. He said he did not even file a police complaint, but was contacted by authorities within hours after the taxi driver handed the wallet over to the police.

“Lost my wallet in a Dubai cab and didn’t even file a complaint. The driver handed it to the police, and they tracked me down in under an hour,” he wrote.

“When I checked the wallet, only 20 AED was missing — even though it had 500 AED. I was shocked… then realised maybe that was just the taxi fare. Respect for honesty and system efficiency.”

Check out the viral post here:

The post has since crossed 1.5 million views, prompting users to share similar experiences and praise the city’s law enforcement and civic culture.

Reacting to the post, one user wrote, “A classic Dubai story: world-class police efficiency meets a driver’s honest-to-a-fault integrity — minus a 20 AED taxi fare, of course!”

Another shared a personal anecdote: “I lost my mobile phone around 12.15am last week. I had left it in a taxi and didn’t even have details of the ride. After raising a complaint, the RTA tracked it and I got my phone back within an hour.”

Others used the thread to discuss honesty and law enforcement more broadly. “In recent times, honesty is rare and should be appreciated. Honest people don’t expect money — honesty has no price,” one user commented, while another added, “That’s what fear of the law does. Same in Singapore.”

Several users also shared comparable experiences from other countries, including India, where one recalled losing a wallet in Goa that was later returned intact by local police.

(This report is based on user-generated content from social media. Livemint has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)