People I know living in al Ghubra told me that police officers have been knocking on theiir doors the past two months and warning people of kidnaps that have occured recently.

When they were asked why they said that people are now using hypnosis to steal children, and said that a month ago they found a 14 year old boy who was missing near Al Seeb airport looking lost and confused, when they asked him what happend he did not remember a thing.

They also warned not to open the door for beggars. If you wanted to give them money, then do not open the door and give it through an opening in the door WITH OUT looking them in the eyes.

Has anyone else had police officers knocking their doors?
and does anyone remember the SMS that was sent by R.O.P warning us to 'keep an eye' on our children?

Never heard of such thing & I believe it's a rumor as usual

Umkhalid: I know exactly what you're talking about. It's been happening a lot more lately. More records of missing children. We didn't have police knocking at our door but we got messages from ROP saying to protect our children and not let them out in the streets to play and to keep an eye on them.
I don't know why this is happening but it's really weird. I heard that these children are being brainwashed and trained to go to war in IRAQ???? :think: i don't know exactly.

This is really terrible. What kind of world are we living in? And here i was thinking that Oman was one of the safest countries. Ufff!

UmKhalid ..

Do you remember the other day when you shared a msg you got from ROP regarding watching your children or protecting them ?

Does that ring any bell? :p

Spirit, Rumour? :bored: I'm telling you police officers knocked their doors. One of my aunts lives in Ghubra and says it's true and that she had them knock her door twice in one month.


Angel Eyes,
Yeah, R.O.P don't normally talk about it. So I'm thinking it must've gotten very serious and that's why they started talking.


Amjad, yes I remember! Haha. :p I made a joke of it at the beginning, but now I'm getting worried.

It only happens when you let your child run and do what he wants without keeping an eye on him.

Meaning: You throw hyim during the morning and don't know what he is doing and where he is going.

I really think this is happenbing because of the bad influence.
And each generation is getting worse...

That is what I think anyone.

what is the root of this problem???
mainly the beggers specially from others countries (around 54% if i remmeber the figure right) that for some weird reason they are here ??? and
whats the HOT line to call against them??
are they moving fast if we call???

A friend of mine got that SMS while we were at the uni the other day, I didn't know it's that serious and I'm shocked now to know that police officers are knocking doors n warning people.

Btw, I wonder if any one of you guys heard about the missing young guy in Seeb? The one who left his family house going to the barber shop and dissapeared?! Is it any true?

Dear UmKhalid, I am sorry to say that I don't believe such stories

If it is such a serious matter, why isn't anything official announced?

So this 14 years old kid was a millionaire with a signed blank cheque book in his pocket that they had to hypnotize him?

And why would the police knock the doors? Even the villages in Oman have the door bell facility

Hehe, alright then, 'they rang our door bell'.

I was going to say 'They beat our door' as a correct translation of '6aggo baabna'. :p

I was going to say 'They beat our door' as a correct translation of '6aggo baabna'.

Your friends are quite fond of using such offensive local words

People don't believe such stories, we heard a similar one last year when there was middle aged lady coming to doors & hypnotizing people, but I think her aims were different, she mainly hypnotized young men

UK, to cut the doubts pick up your phone and call Al Ghubra police station and ask them about it. They will definitly tell you if it's true or not. Saying I heard the police did this and said that will do nothing but spreading the rumor more.

Call the police station? ... Can't do that :os

Call the police station? ... Can't do that :oshmmmm ... why not?

Yes call the police station and ask them.

That would be weird. Very weird.

I've never heard of any kidnapping stories.

Though, I don't want to say u're making this up.. It's possible that u heard this story from a reliable place, but still .. I don't believe it myself.

UmKhalid, kindly call the police & confirm

Otherwise we have no choice but to consider it a rumour & bury the thread

My mum got the SMS from R.O.P ! Its was scary and she wonderd why

And i heard many stories about the beggers and how they hypnose poeple and steal their money,gold and even their kids!

Another rumor?! Oh well! :bored:

Hypnosis is not a joke, a person needs a great deal of time and practice before he can be able to hypnotize a person in less than a minute. Also, not all people can be hypnotized and the amount of authority you have on a hypnotized person varies and in most cases they refuse taking any actions deemed harmful and immoral.

My aunt opened the door for the police officers. The police officers told my aunt not to let her children play outside alone. She asked why, they scared her with the story of the 14 year old.

Why one earth would police officers run around spreading rumours?

its not like ROP to go knocking on people's door to warn them .. there are other methods to create awarness among people. If your aunt got police officers warninng her, she must be warned by that in the first place they might not be police officers to start with.

I live in Al Ghubra, and my in laws too .. non of us got police officers knocking on our doors.

I advice you like hitman, to call 9999 and tell them this issue. They would confirm if its true or not.
Regarding the msg, unless it was sent to all phone numbers it doesnt sound real at all. WHy would they pick and choose who to send them to?

Wow!!!

What a cool thread!

I LOVE reading these local Omani threads: Remember the one about the owl suffering in the well?

UmK, I don't know what the explanation is. I'm sure your aunt is as honest as the day is long.

Maybe there really have been a few kidnappings lately, maybe they got a tip or some other indication that there might be some more in that area, and maybe a few policemen decided to embroider the story with their own guesses or weird ideas....

But you know, I don't think you really can just kidnap kids and hypnotize them. Hypnosis requires the willing cooperation of the subject: you can't just force someone to get hypnotized.

Maybe someone is convincing a few young people to go fight somewhere using religious arguments or something and they are just calling it "hypnosis" like "brainwashing" so that people won't feel they need to blame their kids for listening to bad arguments.

So: don't worry! Nothing will happen to you.

Calling the police station to see if they confirm would be a nice idea to calm you down, but I can see you are too shy. If I spoke Arabic, I'd do it for you! :p I don't see why one of these manly, take-charge, un-hypnotizable Omani young guys can't do it! What about 3abdoosh?

Actually in defense of Umm Khalid, the American Embassy issued a warning to all US citizens about the exact same thing! the hypnosis part is a load of crock though. Apparantly two guys tried to kidnap 2 lil boys playing out n the yard. And Hitman before you block me again and say this is another rumour - read this buddy

https://www.osac.gov/Reports/report.cfm?contentID=78391

Umk, I live in Al-Ghubra, I havent heard of such any kidnapping stories!

Regarding the msg, unless it was sent to all phone numbers it doesnt sound real at all. WHy would they pick and choose who to send them to?

Good point.

R.O.P they didn’t send SMS to warn “watching your children or protecting them” or police officers.
Please police want to investigate SMS any one having copy of SMS.

Actually in defense of Umm Khalid, the American Embassy issued a warning to all US citizens about the exact same thing! the hypnosis part is a load of crock though. Apparantly two guys tried to kidnap 2 lil boys playing out n the yard. And Hitman before you block me again and say this is another rumour - read this buddy

https://www.osac.gov/Reports/report.cfm?contentID=78391

Good girl, hijabi!

This brings it all into focus.

1. There have been some kidnappings of kids (probably not many but more than usual).

2. So people are being told to watch out.

3. There may have been some speculation that some of them might be take away somewhere are raised as "jihadis" in one of these groups that is fighting in Iraq or Afghanistan or elsewhere...probably not much truth to it, but who knows. And the explanation is: "hypnotizing" them into being fighters...

Pay reasonable attention to 1 and 2, but don't freak out.

Pretty much ignore 3.

This brings it all into focus.

1. There have been some kidnappings of kids (probably not many but more than usual).

2. So people are being told to watch out.

Actually it would have to be more than usual for there to a warning issued and its about time ppl watched their kids while theyre out playing in the streets.

3. There may have been some speculation that some of them might be take away somewhere are raised as "jihadis" in one of these groups that is fighting in Iraq or Afghanistan or elsewhere...probably not much truth to it, but who knows. And the explanation is: "hypnotizing" them into being fighters...

Ho hum, sorry Jeff but this just sounds like more US neurotics to me! Boogeymen behind every bush.... Kids are kidnapped all over the world for thousands of reasons, but Ive never heard of ppl "importing" kids to brainwash them. And anyway as a Catholic you should know a 14 year old is not the prime age for brainwashing - wasnt it the missionaries who said "Give me a child from when hes one to seven and he's mine for life" :rolleyes::p

HairlyMan, You know those messages, where you can't reply? We got that type of message from (ROP).

Actually it would have to be more than usual for there to a warning issued and its about time ppl watched their kids while theyre out playing in the streets.



Ho hum, sorry Jeff but this just sounds like more US neurotics to me! Boogeymen behind every bush.... Kids are kidnapped all over the world for thousands of reasons, but Ive never heard of ppl "importing" kids to brainwash them. And anyway as a Catholic you should know a 14 year old is not the prime age for brainwashing - wasnt it the missionaries who said "Give me a child from when hes one to seven and he's mine for life" :rolleyes::p


Pretty much ignore 3.[/QUOTE]

This is coming from Omanis! :p

It sounds silly to me too...unlikely. Which is why I said, "Pretty much ignore number 3" and said it was probably just "speculation".

When there is a warning by R.O.P it will be announced on Oman T.V channel, Omai Radio FM, local news and some leaflets done by R.O.P. A part from this it's a bare rumor.

Though I was sure it's a rumor I've just called 9999 and Bushar police station for you UK and they confirmed it's just a rumor and nothing from what you mentioned happened at all.

However, It's true that ' missing ' cases are increasing in Oman specially in Muscat but we can't call them kidnapping. Some of the missing persons run away by their own choice.

Thank you El Rey :shy:

Now this is even weirder, what about the police officers and messages?

Well, I asked them about this too and they said you can report anything about this. And if you got the message or anyone has it just head to the police station and they wil figure it out.

HairlyMan, You know those messages, where you can't reply? We got that type of message from (ROP).

Please send to xxxxxxx
Number of police officer.

Is there any way that someone could manipulate the SMS system and send a message that would appear to be from the ROP?

Plus, I don't understand why the ROP would want us to forward the message from our phone. What will that prove? For all they know we could've made it up?

Is there any way that someone could manipulate the SMS system and send a message that would appear to be from the ROP?

Plus, I don't understand why the ROP would want us to forward the message from our phone. What will that prove? For all they know we could've made it up?

Well SMS can be send through internet.
With sender name R.O.P.
They can have prove, they will be announced on Oman T.V channel, Oman Radio FM as rumours.

double post

Ok but then why is the embassy issuing a warning? And why have 2 other embassies sent out the EXACT same warning to their citizens living in Oman? I mean if it was just a rumour why bother?

^ So many robberies too, but they wouldn't tell! We only got police officers warning us after our 9th neighbour's house was robbed.

Well SMS can be send through internet.
With sender name R.O.P.
They can have prove, they will be announced on Oman T.V channel, Oman Radio FM as rumours.

Exactly, My friends used to send me a message from Omantel website ( sender: Omantel ) saying: Dear customer, your bill has reached O.R 250 and you gotta pay us now or we're gonna get your as* down muhahahah and I was like wth :os . You can name your phone whatever you like from the internet.

Ok but then why is the embassy issuing a warning? And why have 2 other embassies sent out the EXACT same warning to their citizens living in Oman? I mean if it was just a rumour why bother?

If one of the Omani deplomats kids or cetizins was tried to be kidnapped in another country am sure Oman will issue the same warning to its diplomats and cetizens: to be cautious. This is a different case.

Ok but then why is the embassy issuing a warning? And why have 2 other embassies sent out the EXACT same warning to their citizens living in Oman? I mean if it was just a rumour why bother?

I don’t trust bush government whatever they say.

When there is a warning by R.O.P it will be announced on Oman T.V channel, Omai Radio FM, local news and some leaflets done by R.O.P. A part from this it's a bare rumor.

There is no need to make a big fuss of this. Making public announcements on TV and radio would make people more paranoid and would make a very big fuss. ROP was just implying through their msgs that people should watch their children out - wherever they are. They didn't go into details in the msg and didn't mention anything about kidnapping or making people worried. That's not ROP's game. They will never issue public announcements on TV to make people paranoid.

Regarding the msg from ROP, I also received one on my Oman phone a couple of weeks ago. It merely said watch your children out - not more or less. And it was very weird to me, because there were no further details mentioned.

It could not be sent from the Internet by someone using ROP's name, because if it was sent from the Internet it would be very obvious and we could know that from the msg. But the msg was sent normally from ROP's system and it didn't contain anything other than "watch your children" or something like that. They do not want to make a big fuss out of this, but they just want to spread awareness of watching children out and protecting them because of what's happening lately...

because if it was sent from the Internet it would be very obvious and we could know that from the msg. ...

How could you know from the msg ?

How could you know from the msg ?Dont all msg have a phone # tied to the message?

Should be easy to find out who sent it.

^ The ROP messages don't.

Dont all msg have a phone # tied to the message?

Should be easy to find out who sent it.


No, usually messages from R.O.P and other telecommunications companies come only with a name without a number. Thus, you can't reply to the msg. Same goes to the internet msgs.

How could you know from the msg ?
If a message is sent through the Internet to a mobile phone, it will show in the message the source in the Internet that message was sent from.

For example, if someone sent me a message under the name ROP or Amjad from OmanTel's website, it will be shown in the message I receive that this message was sent from OmanTel through X's account. Same case with other websites which offer free messages sending. The original source of the message [website/host or whatever] will be shown. Though, in this ROP message I received, nothing like that was shown.

Also, there is another way to double check if you are not quite sure. You can simply check the "details" of the message. It will tell you what time was that message sent, by who, and what the source is. If the source is NOT the number of OmanTel's messages service center (+96899300610) then that message is definitely not sent via OmanTel. If the message was sent from the Internet, it would also show there.

^ The ROP messages don't.You may not see it on your end ... but it DEFINETLY tied to a phone # without a doubt!

Or it could not be sent.

You may not see it on your end ... but it DEFINETLY tied to a phone # without a doubt!

Or it could not be sent.
The phone number it would be tied to is the number of OmanTel's SMS service center, which I mentioned in my previous post... No phone number other than that would be provided in those messages sent by different institutes in the country via OmanTel.

You may not see it on your end ... but it DEFINETLY tied to a phone # without a doubt!

Or it could not be sent.

Didn't know that, thought it was some special system.

Well, I don't know of a way to get the number. We can get the numbers that we have received on our land line but we'd have to pay.

My aunt opened the door for the police officers.

Did ask them for their identity cards?

Ok, I just made inquires about the SMS sent by the R.O.P. The message was intended to caution people about the risks of electrical equipments and not to leave children unattended in the presence of electrical appliances and wall sockets. The Arabic mass SMS was properly composed but the English version was mistranslated and the last part was saying something like "Don't leave your children alone" or "Watch your children all the time"! That last bit was misinterpreted by many parents and now a rumor about kidnappings has spread.

UmKhalid, if you can find the English version of the SMS then it will be helpful to type it here. It's been sent a while ago and many probably deleted!


Oh, and regarding the missing people. Those individuals left their homes to fulfill a desire that eventually took their lives. It's just a matter of time until their bodies are found in some deserted area.

Ok but then why is the embassy issuing a warning? And why have 2 other embassies sent out the EXACT same warning to their citizens living in Oman? I mean if it was just a rumour why bother?

a couple of years back, US embassy did the same thing and they had no ground for thier warning except that there were rumours about robberies.
ROP's policy is that unless the issue is very serious, there is no need to creat panaic .. we know how omanis can easly panic and start worrying about ketchup botteles being infected by HIV!

Ofcourse there are kidnapping happening around, and kids running away .. we are not a perfect society. But why create panic when there is no serious issue?

People with imagination! I got that SMS time back, & I said to myself they must be warning about not leaving the kids alone as they might hurt themselves.

You may not see it on your end ... but it DEFINETLY tied to a phone # without a doubt!

Or it could not be sent.

Yes Jacky, every SMS has a hidden header, kindda similar to an email header yet much shorter in length. Some mobile phones can be tweaked to display the complete header.

In most cases, the header info like originating SMSC (the server that handles all the SMS), sender number or IP (If sent through an IP gateway) is altered or removed by the local SMSC before it's pushed to the destined mobile number.

People with imagination! I got that SMS time back, & I said to myself they must be warning about not leaving the kids alone as they might hurt themselves.

So the SMS was a cautionary message about the risks of electricity etc...?

They were female officers in uniform.

They were female officers in uniform.

If I knock your door dressed up like a female officer, would you actually consider me one?

Or will you would ask me for my ID?

Ok, I just made inquires about the SMS sent by the R.O.P. The message was intended to caution people about the risks of electrical equipments and not to leave children unattended in the presence of electrical appliances and wall sockets. The Arabic mass SMS was properly composed but the English version was mistranslated and the last part was saying something like "Don't leave your children alone" or "Watch your children all the time"! That last bit was misinterpreted by many parents and now a rumor about kidnappings has spread.

UmKhalid, if you can find the English version of the SMS then it will be helpful to type it here. It's been sent a while ago and many probably deleted!


Oh, and regarding the missing people. Those individuals left their homes to fulfill a desire that eventually took their lives. It's just a matter of time until their bodies are found in some deserted area.

Well thanks a lot for clearing that out UnKnown.

ROP did a lousy job in making us understand that. We didn't even get the Arabic version you're talking about!

Only the English where it said 'Keep an eye on your children at all times' - If ROP even cared they would've sent another COMPLETE message.

:bored:

If I knock your door dressed up like a female officer, would you actually consider me one?

Or will you would ask me for my ID?

I'd be freaked out and call 9999. Why on earth would I trust a guy in a female's outfit?

^ haha! cross-dressers are always creepy. :p

well, rumor or not, just watch out for your kids.

So the SMS was a cautionary message about the risks of electricity etc...?
The one I got was in English, it was just watch your kids. But, it was clearly enough to deliver the message.

If I knock your door dressed up like a female officer, would you actually consider me one?

Or will you would ask me for my ID?
FYI, you're not supposed to ask a police officer for his/her ID unless he/she is NOT wearing an official uniform.

FYI, you're not supposed to ask a police officer for his/her ID unless he/she is NOT wearing an official uniform.
really? what if that person is an impostor?

Well I have been told there are some kids disappearance cases in Sohar.

Just try to watch out.