Phone scam rings in trouble for 9

Nine Indian expatriates convicted of fraud in a telephone scam over nine years ago have completed their sentences in the Kingdom, but have to remain in jail because they cannot pay a hefty SR 6 million fine.
In four different cases, 11 Indian workers were found guilty of making money out of fraudulent calls.
Naser Kodiyan spent 12 years in prison in Jeddah and was released nearly three years ago, said Saleem Kodiyan, his brother. In Dammam, Sharif Mohammed was imprisoned for three years and later released.
However, nine have remained behind bars for over nine years because they cannot afford to pay the SR 6 million fine.
The men jailed in Jeddah are Yousuf Abu Bakruddin, Mohammed Ayub Kannur, Yousuf Mohammed Shafi, Mohammed Ashraf Hussan, Hussain Ahmed Hazoorani, Nasir Mohammed Nasir, Abdul Rafeeq Valachil and Fairoz Abdul Rahman.
Mohammed Anwar Khan has been in a Taif prison for over nine years.
The scams involved the use of landlines, with crooks in India charging unwitting subscribers for expensive overseas calls. These cheap calls were commonly known as “Number Two Line” or “Hundi Phone” two decades ago.
The Indian fraudsters in Saudi Arabia used a similar system, this time charging landline subscribers in the Kingdom for expensive overseas calls.
When mobile phones were first introduced in the Kingdom, fraudsters illegally used the SIM cards of subscribers to rack up huge bills. They also rented out their illegal devices to poor laborers at cheap prices.