Con men are targeting mostly poorly-educated Indian and Pakistani expatriates in the Kingdom to get hold of their Iqama numbers and sensitive bank information. Operating from a foreign landline, these con men normally phone from the number, +923417273150. When the victim answers, a soft-spoken caller says he is calling from a Gulf country, asks the victim's nationality and then proceeds to tell him he has won SR200,000 in the SAWA SIM consumers' lottery which has been organized by entrepreneurs in India, Pakistan and the Gulf region. The con man then says the victim will be able to get the prize money at Al-Rajhi Bank, known for dealing in remittances, and adds that the bank's details will be sent shortly via SMS. The victim is warned not to tell anyone about his win, or else his SIM card will be blocked. To further convince the victim, the con man reads out the first seven digits of the person's SIM card. Once the victim opens his phone and checks the SIM card, he or she finds the numbers to be correct, because the number is the same for all SIM cards of a particular company. The victim is virtually trapped into the scheme. The con man then asks for the victim's iqama number and other sensitive information that may lead to hacking of his personal information and access to bank accounts. Saudi Gazette contacted several such victims and they all narrated a similar version of events. Readers are warned against falling into trap of such scams and revealing any personal information to callers. They must verify any claims by calling the company directly. __
