SORCERY CALLING SCAM TARGETS

UNCLAS RIYADH 001111 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR NEA/ARP (BERNDT) AND NEA/RA (SHAUNFIELD) E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON PGOV ASEC KCRM SOCI SA SG SUBJECT: SORCERY CALLING SCAM TARGETS ¶1. (SBU) A/GSO received a call at 17:45 on August 25 from an unknown number with country code 221 (the country code for Senegal). Upon returning the call, a man purporting to know her said in Egyptian colloquial Arabic that he "wanted to help her." "You are in danger -- your life is in danger," he said, explaining that someone had used sorcery (saher) to put a curse on her and that she needed to listen to what he had to say. "I know you are a Saudi woman and believe me, you need my help -- I am only calling to help you. Do you understand what I am saying?" he repeated. ¶2. (SBU) Saudi contacts in the transportation and tourism industries later told A/GSO that these phone calls are a widespread phenomenon in Saudi Arabia. Scammers call Saudi numbers at random and leave missed calls. When someone calls back, the scammer speaks with urgency about a sorcerer who has put a life-threatening curse on the caller. The scammer then offers to counter the curse and solicits the caller's credit card information to pay for their sorcery services. ¶3. (SBU) Financial risk for the scammer reportedly is low, as they do not pay for the calls themselves. Scammers select for gullibility and financial solvency by only engaging callers who take the time and resources to return the international call. COMMENT -------------- ¶4. (SBU) More common scams like the Nigerian 419 fraud letter also target Saudis via fax and email. While the motivator in advance-fee fraud is financial, this phone scam cleverly targets widespread Saudi belief in, and fear of, sorcery.