Federal Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony has launched an SMS service (8331) that will ensure the Haj scheme pilgrims are kept safe from fraud and the wrong company.
The ministry just launched a short message service (SMS) with the code 8331 with the aim of keeping Haj pilgrims safe from fraud and other such scams. SMS service will be instrumental in ensuring that the Haj pilgrims do not fall to plots and scams being perpetrated by criminals. According to officials from the Federal Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony, this would be an easy way for the pilgrims to attend Haj without any issues especially from criminals intent on duping them.
To use the service, the pilgrims who want to attend Haj through the Haj Group Organiser (HGO) would first need to identify the enrollment number of the organizer. They then send the first four digits of this number to 8331 to check whether the HGO is genuine or not. As soon as one has sent the text message and if the organizer is a genuine one, you will immediately receive a text message from 8331. This text should have the details of the organizer such as their name, enrollment status, the chief executive’s name, its address and allotted quota. Using the numbers 051-9207519, 051-9205212, 051-9205427, you can still confirm the details of the organizer.
The same ministry has stated that it is not wise to go into contract with another party without first having confirmed the enrollment details of their organizer. The ministry has also indicated that pilgrims should ensure they have received the administrative vaccines that would put them out of danger from infectious diseases on their travels. This should be done early enough (at least 10 days) before their trip to Saudi Arabia to prevent any delays in their travels. All pilgrims should have vaccine certificates ready as they book their tickets to Saudi Arabia.
All these steps are geared towards ensuring that the Haj event is carried out without issues.
