JEDDAH: Seven Pakistanis were arrested here Friday on charges of conning people into sending them pre-paid mobile telephone numbers which they then sold on to mobile users on the black market. The seven, who reportedly operated in various areas of the Kingdom, called random numbers telling people they had won a prize worth SR200,000 and that they would receive it within two days on the condition they bought and forwarded card numbers for pre-paid phones. Victims discovered that after two days, the telephone they were asked to provide the number to had been cut off. The police said that the group had been active over the last few weeks and that eight persons had fallen victim to the con in Jeddah, along with seven others in different areas of the country. According to police, the most recent victim to report the scam had lost SR7,000 in charge cards whose numbers he sent to the conmen. “We had received a number of complaints concerning the activities of this group, and despite warnings to the public certain individuals continued to fall victim to the conmen before we managed to identify and capture them,” said Ali Al-Ghamdi, head of Jeddah Police. He said that the seven were detained after police first observed one man charging people's telephones at knockdown prices and without providing cards. They discovered that his telephone was charged with over SR7,000-worth of pre-paid calls. Investigations led officers to his accomplices. Al-Ghamdi advised the public to only purchase pre-paid card numbers from reliable sources.
