Fraudsters continue to target online banking and financial system networks in Bahrain
TDT | Manama
The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com
Reported by Julia Cassano
Fraudsters strike again as another victim loses BD3,000 (7,200 Euros) from a number of unauthorised transactions made using his credit card on numerous Facebook ads, causing residents in Bahrain to grow extremely frustrated as the ongoing online scams carry on.
Fraudsters are continuing to target the online banking and financial system networks in Bahrain, and Bahrain’s citizens and residents continue to lose money from their bank cards daily.
And most interestingly, among thousands who lost money, is a general manager of an automotive company in Bahrain Speaking to The Daily Tribune, Mohammed Zaki, general manager of an automotive company, said that whilst travelling to Qatar, he had noticed a series of unauthorised charges from his SMS notifications which caused him to immediately contact his bank, Standard Chartered, to report the fraud.
In addition, he had not received any unknown calls or SMS messages asking for sensitive information or OTP codes, which is the usual reason when money is stolen out of accounts. The money was taken from his account without his permission or knowledge through multiple transactions.
“When I contacted Standard Chartered, the representatives explained to me that the money had not been paid to the vendor yet, and I told them to stop the card immediately so the money would not go through to the vendor, which they did,” Mohammed said.
“Although the vendor had not been paid yet, Standard Chartered said that it was not possible to stop the money being paid to the vendor, and they would only investigate the claim once the money had been taken by the vendor.
Despite the fraud on my card, Standard Chartered told me to contact them again once the money had officially been taken,” Mohammed said. Rightfully frustrated, Mohammed questioned the bank and asked how the money could have been taken from the start when no sensitive information such as an OTP code or bank details were given to the scammer before this?
Instead of being met with concerned and courteous responses from the bank, Mohammed said that the bank communicated an uninterested and indifferent approach to the fraud charges on his card. Many, just like Mohammed, are frustrated as when victims of online scams contact their “trusted” bank, the banks seem as though this is just a “regular occurrence.”
Nevertheless, Standard Chartered said that the money would be returned after six months. “Although the bank assured me that I will receive my money back, they said that I would also have to pay a minimum payment each month as well as the interest rate, even though these were not authorised transactions by me,” Mohammed said.
Frustration is felt across Bahrain as scams continue to rise and people continue to lose money. Mohammed voiced the seriousness of this situation as he explained that if the bank is aware of these transactions or fraud, the card should be frozen immediately to stop future payments by the fraudsters. When will the online scams slow down?
What will it take for authorities and banks to address the seriousness of this issue. The attacks are not slowing down as a research firm, Kaspersky, reported a 348 per cent increase in cyber attacks in Bahrain from January to April 2022.
The Daily Tribune has previously reported on numerous cases of online scams in the Kingdom, and as these attacks keep happening, customers are beginning to question the security measures in place by banks who are supposed to be trusted.
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