By Abdulqadir Muhammad Alhaji
A Nigerian female pilgrim in Madinah has narrated how she allegedly lost hundreds of dollars to a suspected fraudster who deceived her with a fake promise of government financial assistance for pilgrims.
The victim, who spoke during an interview, said the suspect approached her and claimed that some financial support meant for pilgrims was being distributed by government officials.
According to her, the man asked her to follow him so she could collect her supposed contribution from the government.
The woman explained that while leading her, the suspect reportedly asked to see the envelope she was holding in order to “confirm” whether it was the correct one for the payment process.
Unknown to her, the suspect was allegedly holding another similar envelope.
Believing the request was genuine, she handed over her envelope to the man, who reportedly swapped it with another envelope and disappeared from the scene shortly afterward.
The victim later discovered that the envelope no longer contained her money, leading to the realisation that she had allegedly been defrauded.
The incident has sparked concerns among pilgrims over the activities of suspected fraudsters targeting visitors during the pilgrimage season through deceptive offers and false assistance claims.
Some pilgrims and stakeholders have since called for increased awareness and caution, urging pilgrims not to follow strangers or hand over money and valuables to unknown persons under any circumstances.
They also advised pilgrims to verify all information through officially recognised pilgrimage officials and authorised channels before responding to offers related to financial support or government assistance.
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