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BAHRAIN will soon come up with a comprehensive strategy to tackle cybercrime which has shot up during the Covid-19 pandemic.
General Directorate of Anti-Corruption and Economic and Electronic Security officer Captain Mohammed Al Abdullah said any individual could fall victim to scammers, who have been adopting new tactics and techniques to trick people into parting with their money.
“Awareness is key to averting fraud,” he said, during the Interior Ministry’s weekly Al Amn (Security) radio show.
“We are intensifying efforts by working as a team with the Central Bank of Bahrain, commercial banks, financial companies, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) and telecom firms to create an action plan to stop these crimes.
Vigilance
“The Public Prosecution is also a part of this effort and we have successfully prevented large sums of money from being siphoned abroad through our joint work.”
Capt Al Abdullah said cyber criminals were now posing as policemen, lawyers and officials from investigative units to extract vital information from people and steal money.
“There are many forms of fraud that have evolved along with the developments in technology and people need to stay vigilant to protect themselves and their families,” he said.
“It’s widely believed that cybercrimes are initiated by hackers sitting behind computers and using the binary code – that is no longer the case.
“Criminals now rely on tricking people into revealing their personal information in order to rob them by presenting themselves as key officials from banks or other companies.”
By doing so, scammers are able to control victims’ bank accounts and empty them as well as conduct other financial transactions in Bahrain or abroad.
“These criminals don’t necessarily commit the crime in one transaction. They can spend months on end slowly collecting data from individuals by asking for personal information through various methods,” he said.
“Once all the information is collected, the money is stolen.
“People are shocked that they fell victim to a crime which took a while to execute.”
Captain Al Abdullah said a key meeting will soon be held with banks in order to create an action plan to tackle and prevent cybercrimes.
He also highlighted the misuse of official social media platforms such as Instagram and Olx – where people are tricked into buying non-existent merchandise.
He warned citizens against falling victim to fraudulent ‘golden deals’ and urged them to double-check the legitimacy of advertisements, companies and individuals prior to purchasing products or making transactions online.
“Criminals are sophisticated as they keep themselves up-to-date with banking and financial laws in different countries to pull off perfect crimes,” he said.
“Bahrain is just a small target on this international network, but we have a strong team tackling criminals and we succeed in bringing some of the stolen funds back.”
Opportunities
The GDN earlier reported that fraudsters were sending out text messages promoting bogus trading and investment opportunities under the name of Bahrain Post.
The swindlers were also asking their victims to disclose their personal information and bank details to claim gifts sent to them by post.
The GDN also reported about cyber criminals preying on fears of the coronavirus and sending fake text messages about booster shots to people in an attempt to steal personal information. The Information and e-Government Authority (iGA) had warned citizens and residents to be wary of text scams concerning the BeAware App.
Bahrain saw almost 5,000 cyberattacks on smartphones this year, according to Kaspersky, a multinational cybersecurity and anti-virus provider. The firm recorded 4,940 malicious attacks on mobile users in the kingdom from January to June.
To report cybercrimes call 992.
reem@gdn.com.bh
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