AL-KHOBAR — Abdulrahman Al-Hussein, spokesman of the Ministry of Commerce, confirmed that the ministry has blocked more than 200 websites that impersonated the ministry during the last two months. This is part of the ministry's initiative to prevent fraud and it achieved this, in cooperation with partners in the Electronic Commerce Council and the Permanent Internet Security Committee, and through daily proactive monitoring. The ministry noted that verifying the reliability of the website is the first step taken as part of protective measures. Al-Hussein pointed out that there are three pillars of institutional communication towards society that the ministry relies on. He identified them as customer-oriented awareness, rapid response and handling of reports, and sharing information through data and statistics that help the business community make information-based decisions. He stressed the importance of making aware of citizens and expatriates about the dangers and harms of commercial concealment (tasattur). "The targeted awareness campaigns have contributed to correcting the status of more than 19,000 commercial establishments, including 2,216 establishments in the Eastern Province, and these establishments became legalized and compliant with government regulations," he said. The ministry spokesman highlighted the importance of fruitful cooperation and partnership between the ministry and the citizens through effective communication and reporting violations that contributed to uncovering cases of fraud and tasattur in the Eastern Province and various regions of the Kingdom. The spokesman identified the most prominent economic activities in the Eastern Province by the end of the third quarter of 2023. These included logistics services (73 percent), marine clubs (72 percent), construction of docks and seaports (47 percent), artificial intelligence (45 percent), and transportation and sea freight grew (27 percent). Al-Hussein said that the Eastern Province is an engine of economic growth and a catalyst for entrepreneurship, and it is the third largest region in the Kingdom in terms of the number of commercial registrations, reaching more than 210,000 by the end of the third quarter of 2023. He said the number of small and medium enterprises in the Eastern Province exceeded 136,000, and the Enterprise Support Center in Al-Khobar provides its services to entrepreneurs. More than 5,400 male and female entrepreneurs have benefited from the services and consultations that it provides during the current year. The Eastern Province includes the largest branch of the Saudi Business Center, located in the Eastern Chamber Tower. The center provides more than 750 services to the business sector and investors in one place. Al-Hussein pointed out the importance of fruitful cooperation and partnership between the ministry and the citizens through effective communication and reporting violations that contributed to uncovering cases of fraud and commercial cover-up in the Eastern Province and various regions of the Kingdom.
