KUWAIT: As part of its social responsibilities and its keenness to protect and educate customers and the community, Gulf Bank continues to educate customers, and any entities that deal with banks, about the risks posed by cybercrime on their information and bank accounts. For the third consecutive year, Gulf Bank is playing a major role in supporting the Diraya “Let’s Be Aware” awareness campaign; initiated by the Central Bank of Kuwait in cooperation with the Kuwait Banking Association.

Echoing the campaign’s message, Gulf Bank’s Corporate Communications Officer, AbdulMohsen Al-Nassar, has been reminding customers and employees to cautiously handle any emails, text messages and phone calls that they receive from unknown parties, as they might be scammers impersonating another bank employee.

Al-Nassar stressed on the importance of preserving their account information and data, and to completely avoid dealing with these messages and calls; to deter any cyber theft from occurring by unknown parties. He noted that banks will never ask customers for their personal information via email, text messages or phone calls; hence, this would be a clear indication of attempted theft aimed at obtaining banking information in order to steal money or personal data.

Al-Nassar added that it sometimes takes just one click, on a foreign link, to expose someone’s confidential banking information to theft. Al-Nassar further mentioned that it is also important to consider the increase of fraudulent activity through fake donation pages – following any disasters – as scammers may take advantage of the opportunity to mislead people and steal their money by asking them to support the needy and those affected by the disasters.

Al-Nassar advised all bank employees with the following:

• To avoid saving confidential information such as debit card, credit card or PIN numbers on the mobile phone.

• To avoid writing the PIN on the credit card, and to avoid sharing the one-time passport (OTP) number with anyone.

• To ensure logging out of the Bank’s mobile application or website immediately upon completion of transactions.

• To ensure that the antivirus software and associated files are updated.

• To type the URL into the browser instead of directly clicking or opening links in emails.

• To be careful when opening attachments and links within emails.

• To download software from known and legitimate sources only.

• To keep all systems such as security systems, applications, and operating systems updated with the latest security updates.

Al-Nassar mentioned that customer awareness is vital in preserving banking data, especially with the significant increase and usage of electronic services lately. He advises customers to always deal with the verified, original websites and licensed institutions when donating funds. The Central Bank of Kuwait, in cooperation with Kuwait Banking Association, has launched the Diraya “Let’s Be Aware” campaign in 2021, to acquaint bank customers with the most important banking services provided to them.

This is to ensure the safety of transactions and to enhance financial inclusion, as well as monetary and economic stability – through comprehensive awareness of customers’ rights and obligations. The Diraya campaign also aims to introduce the advantages of electronic financial transactions and ways to avoid the risks arising from them to achieve cybersecurity.