I would like to share an incident that happened to me this week to warn others.
As I parked my car in Manama and stepped out, a Filipino man approached me holding what appeared to be a KFH ATM card.
He said he had tried to withdraw cash from an ATM but was unable to do so.
He requested that I give him BD20, assuring me that he would immediately transfer the money to me through BenefitPay.
He asked for my phone number, entered BD20 into his KFH app in front of me, and showed me a screen that appeared to confirm the transfer.
However, I did not receive any payment in my BenefitPay account.
I told him clearly that I could not give him BD20 unless I actually received the money.
He insisted that BenefitPay notifications are sometimes delayed and asked me to wait.
He even told me to restart my phone, claiming the payment would appear shortly.
He then showed me what looked like a transaction screenshot and insisted that the amount had already been deducted from his account.
He even accused me of trying to cheat him despite the ‘proof’ he was showing me.
As I was in a hurry and he kept me waiting for nearly 20 minutes, I eventually handed him BD20, believing the payment would arrive.
When the money still did not appear, I confronted him and suggested that we go together to the Manama Police Station to verify the transaction.
He confidently replied, “No problem, I will come with you. I have proof.”
However, while we were walking towards the police station, he suddenly ran away and disappeared.
Later, I learned that this is a new scam being carried out by a group targeting people in Manama.
This was a costly lesson for me.
From now on, I will never hand over cash to an unknown person unless I have actually received the payment in my account.
Please stay alert and do not rely on screenshots or claimed transaction confirmations.
Always verify that the money has been credited to your account before giving anyone cash.
Please share this message to help protect others from falling victim to this scam.
Abdul Qaiyum
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