Iqama fraud: Driver in trouble for SR22,000 bills

Jeddah, Jul 20: An Indian expat is caught up in an unlikely legal tangle.

Shamsuddin Ansari has been banned from traveling after failing to pay phone bills for SIM cards that have been falsely registered under his name.

Ansari, who works as a driver in the Kingdom's central region, is running from pillar to post to clear his name and absolve himself from paying three outstanding phone bills issued by a leading telecom company worth more than SR22,000.

“I am oblivious to where these bills have come up from,” he told Arab News. “I received a phone call from a telecom executive in Riyadh, who warned me to pay up or else. There are three SIM cards under my name and ID,” he said. “I am a house driver and cannot afford three SIM cards in the first place.”

He added: “My iqama copy has been misused. There is a credit limit system in place and a driver such as myself would never be authorized to run up a bill beyond SR1,000. Why, then, has the telecom company kept quiet about such a staggering amount?”

He explained: “I have approached the telecom company to no avail. I have also filed a complaint with the police and have knocked on the doors of the governor's office to help me cancel the subscription and clear my name. I know an Indian tailor with a SR700 outstanding bill who has also been banned from travel.”

Such incidents are on the increase in the Kingdom.

Police in Jeddah recently arrested nearly 20 Arab and Asian suspects in connection with the issuance of 15,884 SIM cards over the past seven months, according to statistics.

In a welcome development, the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) has introduced a system that enables residents to check whether there are any extra SIM cards registered under their name without their consent.

STC subscribers can send an SMS message containing the number 9988 to the number 902, while Mobily subscribers can send a blank SMS message to 616166 and Zain subscribers can send a blank SMS message to 700123.

These services, however, only enable subscribers to check for extra SIM cards with the telecom company with which they are registered and not others. Users who want to check for SIM cards under other networks will be obliged to visit their sales offices.