In implementation of the directives of the Central Bank of Kuwait and based on the keenness of the Kuwait Banking Association and Kuwaiti banks to protect the valued bank customers and preserve their assets and properties, the Association and Kuwaiti banks, in cooperation with the relevant authorities, established a central virtual room to receive customer reports and deal with them with the required efficiency and speed, which operations began last December according to clear and specific procedures that were established in agreement between all concerned parties to facilitate and speed up cooperation and coordination between them around the clock.
On this occasion, the Secretary-General of the Kuwait Banking Association, Prof. Yaqoub Al-Sayed Yousef Al-Rifaei, stated that the central room works to monitor all electronic fraud operations with the aim of combating and addressing them and taking the necessary precautionary measures to ensure that they are not repeated. The establishment of the room came with the aim of enhancing efforts between the banking sector and the relevant authorities to reduce fraud operations, as cooperation between the banking sector and official authorities contributes to achieving greater progress in the field of protecting customers from financial fraud operations by integrating the expertise of both parties.
Al-Rifaei also stated that in addition to the measures taken by Kuwaiti banks and the Association to combat fraud, and based on the principle of social responsibility that the banking sector is keen on towards customers, a working group of specialists from Kuwaiti banks has been formed to study and analyze all aspects related to fraud cases from target groups, used channels, and fraud methods and patterns, with the aim of educating customers and raising their awareness about the latest methods used in fraud operations and ways to combat them. Awareness messages and videos are being published in this regard on all social media accounts and means of communication of the Central Bank of Kuwait, the Kuwait Banking Association, and Kuwaiti banks, in addition to the social media accounts and means of communication of the national awareness campaign “Let’s be aware”.
Al-Rifaei explained that raising the level of awareness in society about the methods and operations of fraud carried out by fraudsters allows individuals to behave well and helps them take the right measures, which is reflected positively through a decrease in the number of fraud operations to which bank customers are exposed. Al-Rifaei concluded by calling on bank customers to exercise caution and follow the awareness and warning messages that banks always send to them and not to disclose their banking and personal data to any party.
