JEDDAH, 28 May 2006 — Questions are being asked about the manner in which large numbers of Saudi female teachers based in rural locations are falling prey to fraudsters.
Recently more than 200 female teachers from Taif have been targeted by conmen who telephone the teachers posing as officials or people with official connections. The fraudsters claim they are able to arrange transfers to city schools on payment of cash.
Many of the teachers, tired of living away from their homes in the countryside, wish to come and live close to their families and loved ones and so place their hopes in the con artists who use crafty methods to extract money from the vulnerable women. At present 200 fraud cases are awaiting court hearings.
Many people are surprised at the sheer number of such cases. Zakiya Mahmoud, a teacher in Taif, said that teachers should be wary of drifting grifters and should never believe in their empty promises.
“What happened to these teachers was the work of smart con artists who convinced the women that they could arrange job transfers to wherever they wished. The fraudsters have profited greatly and left impressions on the teachers that they had magic wands,” she said.
Zakiya said that the conmen have tricked the desperate teachers through telephone calls. She added that it would have been better for the teachers to go through normal official channels.
“Many teachers were forced to take loans in order to realize their dreams. Those that paid have lived in a continuous cycle of pain and have been forced to carry on making payments whereas teachers that refused have been blackmailed to make further payments with recordings of their conversations.”
Zakiya said it was a losing situation for the teachers who didn’t get transferred: They lost their money and, worst of all, suffered a lot of anxiety.
Teacher Hind Ahmad Flimban was a scam-victim. According to her, female teachers should be aware of the games played by fraudsters. “Many female teachers are forced to teach in distant areas and believe anyone who promises to find them jobs in cities,” she said. “All teachers should follow the official procedures when wanting to transfer. The conmen are crafty and know that Saudi teachers in villages are desperate enough to sell all their property just for a transfer. These crooks have found an easy way of making money by making fake promises and claiming that they can help speed transfers.”
Teacher Nura Bamarouf says she was herself targeted by con artists but decided not to listen to them. “Many of my friends have, however, fallen prey to the con artists. “All this stems from ignorance. These teachers should have realized that the people they were dealing with were crooks. I was approached by one of them who promised me if I paid the appropriate amount of money then my waiting time would be shortened.”
Bamarouf said that the conman caught in Taif is just one of many targeting poor teachers. “Women should not get help from them, whether they are teachers or doctors, they should not listen to strangers nor trust them with their money. It is shameful that educated women should involve themselves in such a thing.”
Bamarouf believes the Ministry of Education should make an example of such teachers and severely punish them.
One teacher, who preferred to remain anonymous, said that her friend called her last year and told her that she knew an official who could help her transfer to her home city of Jeddah. The teacher says she called the man who claimed to be a senior official at the ministry and said that he could help her. Two days later the man rang her and, to her surprise, asked for SR20,000 to speed up her transfer.
“I gave him the money thinking that at the end of the day I would get a transfer. He then started to call me many times asking about my family and other personal things. I trusted him and answered all his questions after which he asked for a final payment of SR20,000 to finalize the transfer.”
The teacher, who was eager to be finally reunited with her family in Jeddah, said that after making the final payment the man revealed his true colors and tried squeezing more money from her. “If I refused to give him, he threatened to pass voice recordings of my conversations with him to the ministry,” she said.
The poor woman was left in serious trouble and having parted with more than SR50,000 was blackmailed into paying an extra SR10,000. The woman’s husband paid the money hoping he would obtain the tape but to no avail. Finally, he divorced his wife.
