JEDDAH, 14 July 2006 — Tony Soprano, the main character in the popular HBO series “The Sopranos”, uses them. Authorities in Saudi Arabia are concerned that terrorists may also use them.
Indeed, the prepaid mobile calling card is popular among denizens of the underworld, real or fictional, because of their untraceable quality. It’s easy to get a prepaid card that isn’t linked to the card purchaser’s name or address. And phone numbers are easily changed, making them a useful tool for anyone worried about who might be listening in or tracing their conversations.
A mall in Jeddah’s Faisaliah District popular among Asian expats has at least one kiosk that openly sells prepaid calling cards to anyone with the money. They charge an extra SR20 for not asking for the proof of residency required when cards are purchased by certified Mobily or Saudi Telecom Co. (STC) vendors.
Abdul Rahman Al-Seez, manager of I2 Communication Co., said that there is negligence in recording the information for prepaid card accounts. “Sellers care about money and they will sell to anyone who got the cash without putting in mind how the service might be used,” he said.
Now, the Communication and Information Technology Commission (CITC) has caught wind of this practice and has issued a warning to holders of prepaid mobile cards to keep their account information updated and accurate, Asharq Al-Awsat, the sister publication of Arab News, reported yesterday.
This new action comes after the commission received numerous complaints of phone harassment that in some cases reportedly resulted in domestic problems, including divorce. These calls were not traceable to the perpetrators of the harassment because the information on the suspect prepaid accounts belonged to other uninvolved people.
Police, too, have expressed concern over their inability to accurately trace fake emergency calls. And the prepaid card has been known to be a tool of deviant groups waging their illegitimate fight against innocent civilians.
Prepaid calling cards are sold at many outlets that are supposed to request customer’s ID information upon purchase. However, many independently-run telecom kiosks freely sell these cards without asking any questions. Consumers are often unaware that cards purchased in this manner are not registered in their name. In order to get a legitimate prepaid account from either the Saudi Telecom Co. (STC) or Mobily, customers must fill out a form and provide identification to either company, including copies of either a family ID for Saudis or an iqama for foreigners.
Khaled Muhammad, a cell phone shop owner in Jeddah, said that many times customers come in a hurry without their identification cards and demand a prepaid card.
“Sometimes they carry copies of iqama that belongs to other people and get the number in their name,” said Muhammad. “Most of the time the identities in the iqama copies belong to people who have left the country for good.”
