Kuwait, 9 July 2024: Kuwait International Bank (KIB) has announced the detection of a new wave of online financial scam operations that rely on various digital communication platforms and target all user categories. The Bank reiterated its warning to customers to avoid falling victim to such schemes that expose their financial and personal data to theft. This step is part of KIB’s ongoing support for the “Let’s Be Aware” (Diraya) financial awareness campaign, launched by the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) and the Kuwait Banking Association (KBA) in cooperation with local banks. Additionally, the warning comes as part of KIB’s comprehensive awareness program aimed at spreading financial and banking literacy among all segments of society.

In this regard, Mohammed Al-Sarraf, Assistant Manager – Anti-Fraud Unit at KIB, said: “At KIB, we continue to uncover various and increasingly diverse types of financial scam tactics, compelling us to intensify efforts to educate our customers and community members about various scam risks, proactive prevention, and counteractive measures.” He added: “Throughout the year, we detect different scam tactics where perpetrators deliberately create new ways to access individuals’ financial and personal data, targeting both customers and non-customers and stealing their money through suspicious and unauthorized means. Recently, two new methods were discovered, prompting us to develop and distribute specific awareness materials and content, including a series of tips for customers to protect them from falling victim to such scams, particularly through digital communication platforms, whose usage is increasing day by day.”

Al-Sarraf called on all KIB customers to ignore unknown individuals who offer money in exchange for sharing personal payment links. He pointed out that the first scam tactic involves scammers claiming to be human resources (HR) recruiters on social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and others, who deceive individuals with promises of easy and quick job opportunities with lucrative pay. These scammers request the victim’s account details and send them payment links, entangling the victim in fraud schemes and enabling the scammers to steal their money.

The second tactic involves scammers asking customers to carry out simple tasks on their mobile phones, such as liking certain photos and writing comments, in exchange for small amounts of money or rewards valued at KD 3 or 4. They then ask the customer to share payment links worth up to KD 150 from their personal account to receive a reward ranging between KD 10 and 20, which is used for fraudulent financial collection operations. Additionally, scammers may ask customers to purchase illegal cryptocurrencies like Binance and KuCoin in exchange for a profit margin of up to 95%, transferring the cryptocurrency to them while keeping a 5-10% share, which leads to the customer becoming legally liable, he said.