STC WARNS AL JAWAL CUSTOMERS TO BEWARE OF BOGUS CALLS

Callers trick Al Jawal customers with false promises

Riyadh, May 2009: Saudi Telecom Company has issued an alert, warning its customers to beware of a scam being run by criminal tricksters who call Al Jawal users on their mobile phones and tell them that they have won big prizes. The scammers then ask their victim for personal information including their ID number, a bank account number to deposit the prize money, the serial number of their SAWA prepaid card and the activation number.

Next, the perpetrators of the scam, who claim to represent a business called SAWA Company, tell their victim that to be eligible to receive the prize they must buy a specified number of STC SAWA prepaid cards and give the scammers the serial and activation numbers.

A spokesperson for STC states that the callers do not represent STC or Al Jawal in any way.  The spokesperson also stated that STC is not running an prize draw promotion. He went on to point out that STC always announce prize draws by declaring them in the newspaper and other media. Also the company clarified that it winners in any prize draw are invited to visit an STC branch to claim their prizes and are never asked for personal information or to reveal their card serial and activation numbers.