Arab News
 
MAKKAH, Nov 17: The scam works like this: An Arab man (not always a Saudi) will approach an expatriate, claim to be an undercover police officer and then, in the process of a fake interrogation that exploits common fears harbored by foreign workers, shake his victim down for cash.

The ruse is quite common in Saudi Arabia, often because expatriates are unaware of their rights to demand that these crooks prove the authority they claim. Few victims of this scam seem to be aware that, for example, they are not compelled to show their iqamas (work/residency visas) to any official who does not positively identify himself.

An inventory of recent reports illustrates the ubiquitous nature of this crime, including several arrests recently of men posing as police officers. In Taif, police arrested two Saudi men posing as cops who had set up a fake checkpoint to stop drivers and attempt to extract bribes from them. Two Yemeni nationals with perfect Saudi accents were also arrested recently in Jeddah posing as undercover cops hoping to get money from their victims.

“Police are on the hunt for these criminals and, based on the description of these fake police officers, we have managed to arrest many of them,” said Makkah police spokesman Maj. Abdul Muhsin Al-Mayman. “Undercover police present their identification when they stop people for questioning. Fake police officers will not do that; they might flash some card to make the situation look real.” Other forms of Saudi ID, such as employment ID cards or even common driver’s licenses, could fool unwary expatriates who cannot read Arabic and are not familiar with the types of ID used by security officials. An editor of Arab News late last year in Jeddah’s Al-Faisaliyah neighborhood was confronted with this ruse. The criminal, an Arab dressed in the typical Saudi garb, flashed an ID card and claimed to be an undercover police officer. The man fled after the editor demanded further proof of identity.

“People have the right to see the card to confirm identity,” said Al-Mayman, adding that the crooks often target laborers who might more easily be fooled or frightened into compliance with handing over an iqama, or a wallet, or just paying a bribe. “These crooks mainly target simple workers and rob them of their money. They always choose the time and place. Such criminals are smart and imitate the identity of police officers and make it look real.”

Even the iqamas themselves can be bounty for these criminals. The cost of replacing an iqama in time and money means that crooks can extract a ransom for the visa’s return, or even pass it on to counterfeiters.

Under Saudi law nobody is compelled to give his or her iqama over to anyone who is not a confirmed, uniformed official. Police urge all expatriates to be more forceful in demanding proof of identity from anyone claming to be an undercover cop and not to cooperate with anyone who does not prove their authority in a clear manner, such as showing an official badge in the case of undercover police officers rather than merely flashing a card without allowing proper scrutiny.

Arab News sent two reporters into the streets of the city to see what happens when men who appear to be Saudis confront foreigners and claim to be undercover cops. In all cases, the foreigners were all too willing to comply with demands without asking for any identification from their interrogators. The only props used by the two reporters were a walkie-talkie and an unmarked Jeep.

In Makkah’s Al-Malawi neighborhood — a popular location for legal and illegal residents — Arab News stopped an Indonesian man dressed in Saudi traditional garb and demanded to see his iqama.

The man appeared flustered and said he had left his iqama at home. The reporters — still posing as police — then persuaded the man to enter the vehicle. They took the man some distance before asking for a 200-riyal bribe. The man only had SR150.

The reporters then informed the man of their real identity, returned the money and then asked him why he did not demand to see any identification from the two reporters posing as police officers.

“The way you were dressed. The way you spoke,” he said. “I didn’t want to make things worse by questioning you.”

Elsewhere Arab News stopped a Filipino couple and claimed that they were in violation of morality law because they did not appear to be married.

The reporter (again posing as a cop) said he was going to arrest the man. The woman begged for his release, saying that they were married. One of the Arab News reporters then hinted that there might be a way to fix the problem easily. The Filipino man quickly offered all the money in his wallet: SR300.

Again, the reporters revealed their identity and asked the couple why they did not demand proper identification. “This was not the first time I’ve been stopped by fake police officers and I suspected your identity,” he said.

“But the thing is that I don’t want trouble and a person posing as a cop is more likely to get violent if he doesn’t get money. I know many of my Filipino friends who were robbed by fake undercover police officers.”

The man said he had twice been robbed — once for SR1,200 and another time for SR700 — by men who posed as cops to stop him but then stole from him instead of trying to extract bribes. In some cases it seems the victims are aware that the crooks are not real cops, but prefer to cooperate out of fear of becoming victims of more violent crime.