Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — Saudi Arabia's Public Prosecution is investigating 11 people for forming a criminal racket and impersonating bank employees with the purpose of stealing money from the bank accounts of Saudi citizens and residents.

The Public Prosecution said its Financial Fraud Unit investigated the case and found the 11 suspects used a rented house as the nest for their illegal activities.

The Public Prosecution confirmed that they arrested the accused because they had committed serious crimes that warranted arrest.

Explaining the modus operandi of the alleged criminals, the Public Prosecution said the gang members had communicated with their victims by impersonating the identity of bank employees.

The suspects sent random messages to the victims’ phones claiming that their banking services had been disrupted and their ATM cards deactivated. They asked the victims to provide them with confidential information and numbers to reactivate the ATM cards.

After persuading their victims to give them the password, the gang members were able to access their bank accounts and steal money.

The investigators found that the accused had asked the victims to give them the secret code to access their banking services, as well as government services on Absher platform.

An official source in the Public Prosecution called on everyone to be careful and raise societal awareness about the methods of financial fraud through all means of communication.

It is important to preserve and protect private data and not share them except through approved channels, the source said.