Elderly residents in Bahrain are being urged to appoint a trusted individual to assist them with technology and financial applications, including money transfers.
Hidd Police Station head Colonel Dr Osama Bahar advised that the designated person should also be monitored by someone who periodically reviews transactions to prevent potential financial losses that could amount to thousands of dinars.
Speaking on the Al Aman social media programme, he highlighted a recent case in which a senior citizen lost more than BD10,000 to a hired worker.
“An elderly man was having trouble reopening a mobile application used for digital money transfers due to issues with his password,” said Col Dr Bahar.
“He went to the bank for assistance, where an employee discovered numerous messages related to withdrawals from his account, most of them occurring around midnight.
“The man was informed about the transfers and immediately contacted his children, who helped him file an official complaint.”
Investigations revealed that the money was transferred to the account of the worker who helped the man with household chores.
When confronted by the elderly man and his children, the worker initially denied the allegations and claimed that the transfers were for electricity, water and phone bills, as well as everyday household expenses that the elderly man had asked him to pay.
Authorities asked the man if he had authorised the helper to use the application for such a purpose, and the victim firmly denied the claims.
“The worker was detained and when the bank statement was issued, it showed transfers amounting to more than BD10,000 to his own account,” said Col Dr Bahar.
“It was neither for expenses or bills, as he claimed, nor for household costs. It was a crime committed by the worker and he was arrested.”
Col Dr Bahar emphasised that the elderly and those who struggle with technology should appoint somebody they trust to either help them with the application or manage their accounts and finances.
“The lesson here is that anyone who feels they are too old or unable to manage digital applications and technology related to money transfers should designate a trustworthy person to handle their accounts and finances,” said Col Dr Bahar.
“The person should also be supervised by someone who reviews their account management, ideally on a monthly basis or at least once every three months, to protect the finances of the elderly.”
The GDN reported in August that a senior banker was sentenced to five years in prison for exploiting his authority and stealing the savings of elderly customers.
The 38-year-old Bahraini was found guilty of swindling more than BD136,000 from clients, including a bed-bound comatose man suffering from dementia, a 90-year-old date farmer as well as a clueless grandmother.
He was found guilty of taking their photographs and CPR cards to remotely open accounts in two banks and two payment platforms without their knowledge or consent.
nader@gdnmedia.bh
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