What would you do if you saw your bank account illegally drained to the last penny? And even worse if you realized that you had helped the culprit do it. Anwar Al-Issa fell victim to bank account theft from an unknown source that deposited SR200 in his account and then contacted him asking him to return the money to the same account number the SR200 was originally sent from. When the culprit received the SR200 returned in the form of an electronic bank transfer, he gathered all information needed and hacked the bank system to drain Issa's account. The bank account was opened in a local bank in Hail. Issa has been trying with his bank to get the money back, but in vain. The police asked him to go to the bank. The bank asked him to go to the Emirate or the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA). Issa feels he is still lost with only a glimmer of hope. The culprit may be attempting to trick other unsuspecting bank clients in the same way, he said. “How come nobody knows what to do about it? Isn't there a law against electronic theft?” Issa asked. If it is something new, then clear-cut procedures must be put in place to tell victims what they should do, he said. The bank had a report of an earlier case, but nothing had been done about it, Issa said. The bank has frozen my complaint and asked me to file a lawsuit with SAMA, Issa said. SAMA was contacted by the governorate for a resolution and there is nothing that Issa can do now but wait. “This is electronic theft punishable by law,” said Obaid Al-Ayafi, a legal adviser. Any person convicted of illegally obtaining money through cyber-crimes is subject to three years in prison or a fine of up to SR2 million, or both, he said. In this case, it is recommended to file a lawsuit with the Emirate in the region and ask for the Commission of Investigation and Prosecution (CIP) to deal with it, he said. The CIP will eventually involve other government authorities like the Communication and Information Technology Commission and SAMA to find leads to the culprit, he said. Cyber-crimes that pop up every now and then have become a real threat to the websites of various government departments and private businesses - which over the last few years has called into question just how secure the Internet is in Saudi Arabia. In 2007, the Cabinet of Ministers approved an act that aims to fight cyber
