JEDDAH, 31 August 2006 — E-mail messages are being circulated in Saudi Arabia between friends and acquaintances warning against fraudsters who are posing as security personnel to defraud unsuspecting people of their money, ATM cards, and important documents such as iqamas and driving licenses.

Following an investigation, Arab News met two victims — an Indian and a Pakistani — from the Hara suburb of Riyadh.

Samson Majeed Gill of Pakistan has been in the Kingdom for the past four years and works for the Samba Financial Group. He said that recently he left his office at around 8 p.m. to go to Obaid Hospital for a medical checkup because he was “feeling kind of weak.”

Gill said it was time for Isha and he was walking home. As he turned a street corner, a fair-colored young man wearing a blue sweatshirt and a thin “French-style mustache” in a metallic green Mercedes stopped him and asked what was he doing during prayer time.

Gill said he was non-Muslim and was going home. “He asked me to get into the car, took my wallet and checked my iqama. The wallet contained just SR10 and my ATM card,” Gill told Arab News.

The man then took Gill to an ATM machine and said that if there were too much money he would take him to the police. “He told me to get my balance statement, which showed I had less than SR500. So he asked me to get another balance statement, and told me to borrow a pen from a nearby store. I hesitated and so he told me not to worry and that he would not go away. I was scared and nervous. I did as he told me, and then he drove off,” said Gill.

Gill then telephoned one of his friends from a public phone and they went to the Malaz police station to register a complaint.

They asked for the car plate number and said they could not do anything without that information. But they noted down the man’s phone numbers. “So far, I have not heard anything from them,” Gill said.

Gill said he informed his office the same day and managed to get his ATM account “locked” but by that time the “fraudster” had withdrawn all the money that was in the account.

Gill now has a new iqama and ATM card. “I am shaken by the incident. It could happen again, and to anybody,” he said.

Another victim is Haridas P., an Indian who has been living in Riyadh since 1988 and works for a private company. He said this is the first time something like this has happened to him. “All these years I have felt safe and secure. Now I am not sure,” he said.

He said he was jogging as usual one night (Aug. 19) near his home when a young man in a big silver-colored Caprice stopped him and asked to see his ID, saying that he was from the special security police.

Haridas said: “He said that he has been observing me for the last few days and has to question me. He then asked me to get into the car.” The man then took his iqama, and ordered him to show him all his documents and his wallet as well.

Haridas became suspicious and so started questioning the man. “He didn’t like my questioning, and threatened me saying he was a special investigative officer and if I didn’t cooperate with him fully he would call the special squad who will take me away,” Haridas added.

In order to scare Haridas, the man would keep calling somebody on his cell phone pretending the person was his superior, and that he was informing about what Haridas was saying.

He told Haridas that the investigation was part of the on-going terrorism and security-related investigations in the Kingdom. The man then took him to an ATM nearby and ordered him to get a printout of his balance statement, saying he wanted to make sure that the bank cards really belonged to him and that the whole exercise was part of the investigation.

Then he stopped the car in front of a store and asked Haridas to bring a bottle of water for him. Haridas’ wallet and documents were on the dashboard of the car and he refused to get out of the car.

The man assured him that he was a policeman doing his duty and there was nothing to worry. He also added that if he did not obey his order he would take this as an insult and make sure he spends a few nights in jail.

“I had no choice but to get out of the car. I pretended that I was going to the store, but I sneaked behind his car to note down the number plate. I cannot read Arabic well, so I fumbled and in the meantime he sped away,” said Haridas.

Haridas said he lost his iqama, driving license, SR100, credit cards and SR1,400 from his account before he could get his account “locked.”

“I have registered a complaint, but police say without the car plate number there is not much that they can do,” said Haridas, who has already applied for a new iqama and credit cards.