MADINAH, 4 March 2006 — With the advent of mobile phones with cameras and Bluetooth connectivity came the vogue of sending improper video-clips and pictures from user to user. The material offended many recipients and this seemed to supply fun to the senders. After the initial rush of complaints, the craze went slightly out of fashion. Recently however it has returned.
Hasan Tomahi was shocked to find an outrageous picture on his mobile phone. He complained to the Saudi Telecom Company and discussed the problem with an employee there.
The STC employee reacted to complaint by searching in the subscriber list for the person who sent the offending picture. The number appeared to be a SAWA card, which is a rechargeable chip available at any shop with no clues to ownership.
“The process of sending outrageous pictures through mobile phones have become a dangerous threat to families’ stability and our youth’s morality,” Ali Hijri, another victim of the unsolicited material. “Unfortunately, we have now phone hackers who buy SAWA phone chips under no name and then misuse them to execute their wicked plans.”
Hijri mentioned that there should be some effort to control this regenerated nuisance from authorities such as the STC, the Police Department and the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of vice.
Retailers of SAWA chips confirmed that young Saudi males make sure to buy new fairly frequently. They deliberately avoid filling out any information forms, which would reveal their identity. Sometimes when shop owners insist on having their official data, young men refuse to buy the chip and sales decrease. Therefore, shops feel obliged to sell SAWA chips illegally.
One salesperson said selling these unrecorded phone chips could provide considerable extra income to retailers. Sometimes they sell more than 1,000 new numbers a month. As much as 90 percent are sold to unknown customers.
A source from the STC said that the company would take this problem into consideration. He reassured that the company’s goal is to spare telephone users this form of harassment. Those who are bothered by mobile phones or Bluetooth devices should use legal methods to sue offenders and stop them from harming society.
