The Saudi Ministry of Commerce has issued a warning to businesses and individuals to beware of unofficial platforms that impersonate official digital identity services, amid growing concerns over data misuse and fraud.
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Commerce has warned companies and institutions against uploading commercial, personal and financial information to unofficial websites and platforms that claim to provide digital identity services for businesses but do not have recognised legal status.
The ministry said organisations should not hand over commercial registration details, tax numbers, national addresses, contact information, bank account data, IBANs, attachments or any other material that could identify a business or its owner until they have verified who is collecting the data, why it is being collected and what legal basis exists for processing it. It said the rise in fake sites and platforms presenting themselves as service providers has increased the risk that data could be misused or shared onwards without consent.
According to the ministry, some platforms use names or logos that suggest an official link to a government body, but that alone is not proof of any such connection. It urged businesses and individuals to use official government channels only, to check the identity of any service provider before entering or uploading information and not to share passwords, verification codes or login details for government or banking accounts.
The warning fits a broader pattern of anti-fraud messaging from the ministry. In previous notices, the ministry said commercial violation reports should be filed only through the Commercial Violation App or by calling 1900, and that it does not ask for passwords, card details or verification codes. In another advisory, official spokesman Abdulrahman Al-Hussein said shoppers should avoid unknown online accounts and verify sellers through the Saudi Business Centre platform, which provides store information quickly and helps confirm whether an outlet is legitimate.
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