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Kuwait City, July 16: Bangladeshi expatriate Abdul Malek Uzir recently fell victim to a financial scam orchestrated by unknown persons and lost a total of KD 1,015 in 20 minutes. Narrating the incident to Arab Times, Uzir said it started with a phone call asking him to provide information to update his bank account, warning that if he did not comply, his account would be closed.
Soon after, he received a text message containing a one-time password (OTP). This was followed by a phone call asking him to reveal the OTP. Within minutes, his bank sent a debit notification for KD 443.97, KD 443.97, KD 111.309, KD 8.750, KD 5.750 and KD 2.
Uziel expressed his distress, explaining that the money was his savings accumulated over the years as he had been planning to leave Kuwait after working there for 24 years. He called on the relevant authorities and the bank management to assist in recovering his funds. Uziel also stressed that bank warnings needed to be translated into multiple languages to protect people of all nationalities as he could not read the original warning message in Arabic. He admitted that he was wrong to answer the call and disclose the OTP, admitting that he had been scammed.
Separately, a timeshare company operating in Kuwait is defrauding middle-class Asian families through deception. The company, which has a small office in Hawalli and a headquarters in Kuwait City, initially distributed coupons in shopping mall parking lots, asking people to fill in their information. After a week or more, participants received a notification via phone or WhatsApp that they had been drawn among 200 participants.
They will then be invited to the office to claim their prize: a 5KD voucher and a four-night stay at a five-star hotel. To claim the prize, participants must come as a couple, mainly targeting families from India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
Upon arrival, the company lured them with offers such as 35-day accommodation packages at five-star hotels in 175 countries, fitness packages for couples for a year, summer camps for children, free dinners at five-star hotels, party arrangements, free guides, discounts, and free transportation in the host country. Prices for these packages started at 250 Kuwaiti dinars. However, once participants paid, the company’s response slowed down significantly, requiring multiple follow-ups to receive the promised benefits. Victims eventually realized they had been scammed.
The company had previously run similar schemes in Dubai and Qatar, making millions before disappearing. In Qatar, 23 Indian nationals filed a complaint with the Indian Embassy, which recorded the names of the victims in a letter to the Director General of Police of Telangana, India (number DOH/CW/415/11/2023). The complaint names Adil Mohammed as the main accused, while other accused include Vicky, Chirag, Sham, Hanna, Zaid, Priya, Joseph, Arafat and Kiran. Sources said the company had moved to Kuwait and was operating under a different name. This fraud poses a major threat to the community, especially targeting vulnerable middle-class families from South Asia. Arab Times and Al Seyassah have been reporting on various scams targeting people, and this timeshare scheme is one of the latest scams that people need to be aware of.
Sayyid Mahmoud Saleh
Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff
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