Imagine receiving a letter with a recent photo of the Vice-Chairman and CEO of Boubyan Bank, Adel Al-Majed, informing you that your investment in Boubyan shares enables you to obtain 3 thousand dinars in profits per month.
Of course, you will not hesitate to request the account number of the sender to redirect your money to him as soon as possible, or even ask him about some of the expected details for which typical answers have been prepared, especially since Adel Al-Majed is one of the brilliant bankers who has a resume that reflects extensive banking and investment experience, and a reputation, reports a local Arabic daily.
In reality, this message is nothing more than a new trap, which fraudsters are trying to set up to attract new victims, especially those aspiring to get rich quickly, taking advantage of the ease of communication with every citizen or resident of Kuwait through direct contacts, and sometimes motivational messages to convince the victim that he has had the opportunity to start a new life.
Such messages bring to mind the messages “Congratulations, you won”, or “Please note that your bank account has been disabled and you must activate it by sending some private data”, the method which fraudsters used to rob thousands of victims in seconds.
Some real-life stories indicate that the fraudsters deluded the victims into obtaining attractive cash returns, and that they actually got them for a short period that ended once they doubled the size of their investment, so that they then lost any contact with the hidden swindler.
After a short period of time, the customer will discover that he has fallen victim to a fraud in a typical form of cybercrime, which banks and regulatory authorities have always warned about, and called for attention not to fall into such traps.
In practice, Al-Majed is not the only Kuwaiti name whose prestige was exploited by fraudsters to attract victims. He was preceded by many well-known local investment and banking personalities, which constitute a tempting example to easily persuade the targeted people to join their investment circle.
It is clear that whenever the means of modern technology that can be used in the development of the banking and investment business develop, this is accompanied by a parallel movement with the means of fraud that have been updated in the recent period, as if the fraudsters are mastering, as usual, how to successfully complete the process and delude and lure customers.
In the past, fraudsters used to say that they are agents and managers of a digital investment platform, and through them clients can make great profits, and it is probably no secret that they have succeeded in many attempts to hack local accounts, whether directly or by transferring their money.
But the new thing that has occurred in the recent period is the use of clean Kuwaiti names in their attempts to defraud.
Despite the numerous awareness campaigns launched by banks, the Central Bank of Kuwait and the Kuwait Banks Association, the latest of which is “Let us be aware”, the fraudsters are still setting up their sails in Kuwait, taking advantage of the inexperience of some, and the ambition of others to get rich quickly.