13 Pakistanis arrested in Saudi Arabia for phone scam
Suspects lured victims with promise of cash prizes then withdrew money from bank accounts
Riyadh: Thirteen Pakistani nationals had been arrested in two Saudi areas over alleged involvement in fraudulent acts, police have said.
Nine of the suspects had been apprehended in the western Saudi city of Makkah, spokesman for the holy city’s police Brig. Mohammad Bin Abdul Wahab said.
“Their arrest came after the availability of proofs of their commitment of fraud crimes. They used text messages to lure their victims and collect data from them on such false claims as updating their bank accounts or telling them [the victims] they had won cash prizes,” the official was quoted by Saudi online newspaper Sabq as saying.
With the tricks, the suspects were purportedly able to withdraw money from the victims’ bank accounts.
Police found in possession of the nine an undisclosed sum of money, 25 mobile phones and 44 SIM cards.
Four other Pakistanis were arrested in the central Saudi region of Qassim on fraud suspicions, according to the official Saudi news agency SPA.
The suspects used similar tricks to swindle the victims out of money, police said.
“They were arrested and legal procedures have been taken against them,” the region’s spokesman Brig Badr Al Sahaibani said without details.