JEDDAH: A Saudi father in the Eastern Province city of Dammam was shocked when he saw an e-mail message saying his son was missing.
Moussa’s father read the message a few minutes after he saw his son playing with his sisters in the courtyard. After reading the message he went out to make sure whether his son was still playing in the courtyard.
The fake message contained his cell phone number, the family’s home number and the emergency number of the police, 999. The message urged people to contact the phone numbers if they find the child as well as to forward the message.
The message said a cash reward of SR100,000 will be paid to those who help find the child, a local Arabic newspaper reported. Moussa’s picture was attached to the message.
Moussa’s mother said the message was heartbreaking for the family. “It seems that the message containing his son’s picture has been circulated among a large number of people,” the father said, adding he would file a complaint to the local police asking them to bring the prankster to book.
“The message will have a negative impact on our family,” Moussa’s mother told the daily. She called for punishing those who circulated the false information through the Internet.
Brig. Yousuf Al-Qahtani, spokesman for Dammam police, said they received many fake messages about disappearances and kidnappings of children.
“People steal photos from the Internet and circulate them with such false messages,” he pointed out.
Lawyer Ibrahim Rajab spoke about the increase of cyber crimes in Saudi Arabia. He said many such cases, especially involving women being blackmailed using photos, were presented in Saudi courts lately. He emphasized the need for taking legal action against such harmful practices.
