The Secretary-General of the Kuwait Banking Association, Dr. Hamad Al-Hasawi, stressed the importance and strength of the banking sector and its ability to keep pace with the latest methods to reduce electronic fraud in light of the instructions of the Central Bank of Kuwait, as local banks apply and monitor closely and continuously the latest international technologies followed in this field, based on following up the behavior of fraud operations to keep pace with what is new, and in this regard, all banks follow accurate procedures for various banking operations, including:
– Opening customer accounts in banks after the customer’s identity is verified according to the procedures followed in this regard.
– Banks apply daily and monthly limits for transfers.
– Include additional details in the OTP message to indicate the nature of the message, the amount and the beneficiary.
Banks continuously follow up operations on customers’ accounts in accordance with legal procedures and instructions of the regulatory authorities, and in the event of any suspicion, the necessary action is taken as dictated by the relevant laws in the country, and banks also provide hotlines and free international lines for customers to communicate from abroad to do the necessary in a timely manner in the event of reporting any suspicious transaction.
Al-Hasawi also pointed out that the Kuwait Banking Association, under the supervision of the Central Bank of Kuwait and in cooperation with the Ministry of Interior and other concerned authorities in the country, has taken additional measures to reduce fraud, in addition to the presence of a specialized committee within the committees of the Association that includes specialized representatives of all banks that coordinate between them and the concerned authorities, discuss fraud operations and exchange experiences and knowledge of everything new in this field to reduce fraud and to apply the latest possible international practices according to the regulating laws and keep pace with Developments in fraud.
It is worth mentioning that the Central Bank of Kuwait continues its vital role successfully through the banking awareness campaign ‘Let’s be aware’ launched in cooperation with the Kuwait Banking Association and Kuwaiti banks and with many official and private entities in spreading financial and banking awareness and protecting the rights of customers in light of the tremendous development of banking services and the accompanying risks, most notably electronic fraud and the diversity of its methods.
The Association also stressed the importance and necessity of following up on the warnings published by the ‘Let’s Be Aware’ campaign and the relevant authorities about electronic fraud methods and stressing that it is important not to rush to provide personal and financial data to any party, whether electronically, text message, website, or phone call. The Association stresses not to respond to any phone call or text messages requesting the disclosure of any information related to customers’ bank accounts, or the disclosure of the verification code that arrives on the OTP mobile phone, and it is important to know that local banks do not ask their customers to disclose their banking information, or request to update their banking data over the phone, and the Association also noted the need to keep financial and personal information and data securely, and choose unfamiliar and difficult passwords, and always be very careful when shopping through The Internet, or falling victim to fraud through remote control applications in smart devices, with the aim of stealing banking data, to be added to other means that have become known
He also noted that some of the applications that are promoted, with the aim of luring victims to download them on their smart devices, so that the user loses control of his device, and the fraudsters begin to control it completely and control the
customer’s data and personal information completely, enabling them to steal their bank accounts.
