The anonymous caller, disguised as an employee of a telecom company, convinced the woman to send prepaid cards as a precondition to be enlisted in the winners’ list, a local daily quoted her as saying.

The woman initially sent prepaid cards worth SR3,500, and more cards later, totally worth SR13,500. When she ran out of money, she borrowed from her brothers and sold some of her jewelry.

Col. Ziad Al-Ruqaiti, spokesman for Eastern Province police, warned the citizens to be wary of such bogus calls, whether from inside or outside the Kingdom.