Kuwait, 23 December 2024: Kuwait International Bank (KIB) has renewed its efforts to warn customers about the risks of sharing personal information via social media and other digital platforms, underscoring the importance of exercising extreme caution upon receiving requests for revealing confidential information. This comes as part of the Bank’s ongoing efforts to protect its customers’ data and ensure the safety of their personal and financial information. The awareness efforts are also an extension of KIB’s support of the banking awareness campaign “Let’s Be Aware” (Diraya), launched by the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) and the Kuwait Banking Association (KBA) in cooperation with domestic banks.

On this note, Mohammed Al-Sarraf, Assistant Manager – Anti-Fraud Unit at KIB, said: “Electronic fraud is a growing threat to our customers, especially methods that rely on social engineering, whereby fraudsters deceive individuals into sharing personal and sensitive information such as passwords and verification codes. By complying with these requests, customers expose their bank accounts to the risk of theft and misuse for illegal purposes.”

He added that the success of social engineering fraud relies on exploiting individuals’ excessive trust or sense of urgency. Following this approach, fraudsters claim to represent trusted entities, such as banks or government institutions, with the aim of convincing individuals to provide their personal and banking information. These fraudulent methods may take many forms, including fake phone calls or suspicious emails, asking individuals to disclose sensitive data, under the pretext of updating accounts or verifying transactions.

To protect their bank accounts, Al-Sarraf urged customers to take all necessary precautions, such as refraining from following links shared by suspicious sources and declining any requests for data that they receive on direct messaging (DM) applications or SMS. He also recommended that customers regularly review their account details and transaction histories, allowing them to detect any suspicious activity and report it immediately, noting that the Bank’s customer service is available around the clock to address any suspected cases of fraud, confirming its commitment to the highest security standards for customers data protection.

Al-Sarraf also pointed out the importance of following digital security guidelines, such as using reliable and updated security applications for smartphones, relying only on the KIB’s official channels to inquire about information or banking services, in addition to activating the notification service to stay immediately informed about any activity on their accounts.

It serves to note that KIB is committed to raising awareness about the risks of digital fraud as part of its ongoing support for the financial literacy campaign, Diraya. The Bank’s ongoing awareness efforts aim to inform customers about the safest banking practices and the best precautionary measures to safeguard their data, urging them to immediately contact the support team in case of any security-related concerns.