Eid shoppers in Bahrain cautioned against online fraud

TDT | Manama   

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Staff Reporter

In light of growing tendency of consumers to carry out their shopping online, a cyber security expert has urged the shoppers to exercise caution against scammers.

Yaqoob Al Awadhi, an information technology expert, stated that Eid Al Fitr holidays witness a growth in online shopping, which necessitates better consumer understanding of how to purchase safely as well as safeguarding himself from the threats that this type of shopping involves.

Mr Al Awadhi emphasised the need for the user’s understanding of how to protect his bank account and credit card information, as well as the importance of not using it on untrustworthy websites and retailers.

He said that while the Central Bank of Bahrain, as well as Bahrain’s banks and financial institutions, adhere to the highest international standards in terms of protecting users’ data, no one can safeguard a user who deliberately reveals personal information to hackers.

Mr Al Awadhi recommended replacing the ATM card with a credit card for any online transactions owing to the difficulties of retrieving the debited amounts if the purchase procedure is not completed for any reason.

He affirmed the need for the cardholder who issues sub-cards to members of his family to track his activities, such as withdrawals of funds from the card, to verify that these activities are legitimate and not carried out by unknown individuals.

“Verifying the store data and tax number, as well as ensuring that the lock icon found on the left of the browser’s address bar, are all ways to validate the online store’s reliability and security. In addition to non-technical measures, such as examining the store’s customer reviews and ratings through social networking sites and making a limited purchase for the first time to be able to evaluate the services of the online store such as the delivery, quality of the product, and the possibility of returning the product. Also, we advise users to stay away of fake online offers,” Mr Al Awadhi added.

Mr Al Awadhi also stressed the necessity of keeping the operating system, installed apps, browsers, and anti-virus software up to date to improve security. This is in addition to avoiding opening suspicious emails or opening suspicious links.

“The users also should use strong and complicated passwords, and should be careful when giving out personal and banking information, or when using public internet networks, and informing the relevant authorities when any problem occurs,” he added.

Earlier, The Daily Tribune published a report about more victims of online payment transfer scams taking to social media platforms to air their woes. It is learnt that fraudsters have been targeting victims by making calls or sending SMSs.

“My husband got a call saying it’s a security verification from the online fund transfer app. He followed the steps told by the lady who called him. And to our bad luck all the money from the account has gone,” Suneetha Ratheesh posted on social media. Ailefo Afatsuom Rasan, another victim, posted: “My husband got scammed and he lost BD1,000 from his account. We have filed a complaint with the CID department.”

The published article also carried the plight of one Bangladeshi national, one Pakistani national and an Indian businessman, who together lost nearly BD1,500 to the scammers. Cyber security experts have always been highlighting the need to protect Unified Payment Interface (UPI) and online transactions from scammers in light of increasing online payments.

They include not responding to calls and text messages from strangers along with putting up different passwords on different accounts and UPI apps. The Central Bank of Bahrain, many a time, has carried out campaigns and circulated messages alerting over the possibility of falling victims to online fraudsters.