White-collar criminals employ a non-violent approach to their crimes, subtly robbing their victims. They are few in number, and their crimes differ from those who engage in murder, robbery, and bloodshed. During sales seasons, financial fraudsters become increasingly active, employing innovative methods ranging from maximizing investment returns to enticing discounts that ensnare their victims.

At the same time, these crimes are met with intensive efforts to combat and control these crimes in their various forms and manifestations, and to prohibit the sinful behaviors that would lead to the misappropriation of other people’s money and its seizure through fraud.

Combating financial crimes and fraud is the main concern of the competent authorities, who issue warning after warning, alerting people to such incidents and apprehending their perpetrators, while raising the level of warning day after day about the danger of dealing with suspicious sites that claim to provide electronic services, fake prizes, or unreasonable deals.

Check with the store

The Ministry of Commerce has warned of a scam being used in e-commerce, where fraudsters exploit real videos to promote their fake offers and lure victims. The Ministry explained that these scammers use electronic devices that appear to show they are communicating with Saudi phone numbers to deceive recipients and gain their trust, with the ultimate goal of fraud.

The Ministry of Commerce, in its warning, clarified that it had detected fraudsters promoting a misleading advertisement on social media platforms for the sale of large-screen televisions at very low prices. The fraudsters claimed these televisions were located in Hafr Al-Batin. The Ministry cautioned against shopping at fake stores and accounts on these platforms and stressed the importance of verifying the legitimacy of online stores through the Business Platform.

177 fraud cases

The Public Prosecution for Financial Fraud has launched an investigation into two expatriates involved in a criminal gang that targeted victims both inside and outside the Kingdom. The investigation revealed that the two defendants established call centers in several regions of the Kingdom and exploited these centers to make fraudulent calls by impersonating representatives of government agencies. The perpetrators carried out 177 financial fraud operations across various regions of the Kingdom, amassing illicit gains exceeding 22 million riyals. A search of the defendants' residence uncovered tablets, external SIM cards, two sophisticated devices used to make fraudulent calls, and a control device that managed the entire operation. The Public Prosecution is taking steps to trace the stolen funds, freeze them, and return them to their rightful owners.

After arresting the two defendants and referring them to the competent court, and presenting evidence of their accusation, a ruling was issued against them convicting them of what was attributed to them, and punishing each of them by imprisoning one of them for a period of 15 years and a fine of one million riyals for one of them and 500,000 riyals for the other, and confiscating the proceeds of the crime, and deporting them from the country after the end of their sentence.

Professional worth 20 million

The head of the Financial Fraud Prosecution at the Public Prosecution, Dr. Nayef Al-Waked, revealed that a celebrity participated in a major fraud operation that amassed approximately two billion riyals. He pointed out that some fraudsters resort to using celebrities to promote an idea or investment project in order to attract as many victims as possible. Al-Waked explained that a fraudster used a famous figure to promote an investment idea for real estate or commercial complexes in northern Riyadh, and began promoting the idea, which led some people to rush to invest in it, believing it to be a legitimate investment.

Al-Waked recounted that a sports club was defrauded of 20 million riyals. The club was about to sign a foreign player, and after the contract was completed, a fake link in the name of the club president came to the club’s financial officer to pay a commission to the player’s agent.

Saudi Arabia tops the cybersecurity index

Dr. Naif Al-Waked confirmed that Saudi Arabia’s leading position in the 2024 Global Cybersecurity Index “reflects the strength of the government’s electronic systems and their superior protection,” stressing that no financial fraud crimes were recorded as a result of hacking the country’s cyber systems, while the recorded crimes were the result of perpetrators exploiting the victims’ personal data.

He explained that the financial fraud prosecution offices work continuously around the clock, seven days a week in all regions of Saudi Arabia, to receive reports from criminal investigation authorities, adding that immediate reporting to the police and the bank is a crucial step to ensure the recovery of the seized funds and prevent their transfer abroad.

He noted that Saudi Arabia is below the global average in financial fraud crimes, which amounted to $6.5 trillion globally in 2021 and is growing at a rate of 15%, with expectations that it will reach $10.5 trillion in 2025.

Al-Waked considered the data of citizens in government services, such as (Absher) and (National Access), a red line, calling on everyone to be careful and not to share verification codes or personal data with any untrusted entity, since “the fraudster can gain access even with a strong firewall if he has the key, which is your personal data.”.

He explained that quick investment and instant wealth are among the most prominent methods used by fraudsters to trap victims, warning against being misled by fake advertisements.

Examine the links carefully

Al-Waked stressed that the Public Prosecution and other authorities are developing procedural work procedures to achieve swift justice in combating financial fraud, noting that the money of citizens and residents is under strict criminal protection, and “the Public Prosecution will continue to pursue fraudsters.”.

He reviewed practical tips on how to ensure the safety of electronic links and avoid falling victim to fraud, stressing the need to examine links carefully, contact the relevant authorities to verify their authenticity before interacting with them, and immediately report any fraud attempts, no matter how small the amounts involved.

Al-Waked referred to the Crime Patterns Analysis Unit in the Public Prosecution, which is based on data analysis and the study of criminal patterns to determine the relationships between crimes and criminals, which helps in detecting recurring crimes, their geographical distribution, studying the resulting volumes, their international direction, and providing accurate and in-depth insights.

Expelling non-Saudis

Lawyer Rami Al-Sharif revealed that financial fraud crimes are major crimes that warrant arrest, and they include two aspects: the public and private right to demand the return of the sums of money obtained by the fraudster in his crime.

He added that practices that would constitute a crime against the money of others by defrauding and stealing it fall under the severe criminal liability, and require penalties ranging from imprisonment to fines, in addition to the deportation of non-Saudis from the country as a consequential penalty after the execution of the penalty in private and public rights.

He explained that the penalty for fraud and deception in Saudi Arabia stipulates imprisonment for a period not exceeding three years and a fine not exceeding two million riyals, or one of these two penalties, for any person who commits any of the classified cybercrimes, including seizing for himself or others movable property or a document, or signing such a document, by means of fraud, or by taking a false name or impersonating an incorrect identity.

He explained that if fraud crimes are combined with money laundering crimes, the perpetrator of the money laundering crimes shall be punished with imprisonment for a period of not less than two years and not exceeding ten years, adding that he shall also be punished with a fine not exceeding five million riyals or with both penalties.

Website design change

Article Three of the Anti-Cybercrime Law stipulates a penalty of imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year and a fine not exceeding 500,000 riyals, or one of these two penalties, for any person who commits the crime of unlawfully accessing a website, or accessing a website to change the designs of this website, or damage it, or modify it, or occupy its address.

Article Five of the Cybercrime Law also stipulates imprisonment for a period not exceeding three years and a fine not exceeding two million riyals, or one of these two penalties, for any person who seizes for himself or for others movable property or a document, or the signature on such a document, by means of fraud, or by taking a false name, or by impersonating an incorrect identity.