Yes, same thing happened with me at Khobar in Saudi. I was new there and a tough looking bearded guy stopped his white car in front of me while I was walking. I thought he was Muttawah and would ask me if I am a muslim and if so why i am not praying during the prayer time. Instead, he started narrating his tough luck story and how he was left with no money. Luckily my company PRO had already apprised me of such incidents and I was able to wade through it safely with no money lost.