The Government service agencies, especially those related to providing social assistance and collecting funds, have ‘awakened’ to the phenomenon that aims to rob citizens and residents, through the use of their logos and images of their employees spread across the cyberspace.
The ministries of Social Affairs and Health”, in addition to the Cybercrime Department in the Ministry of Interior have issued warnings not to respond to incoming calls from unknown persons who make it a habit to request personal data under several pretexts and those who swallow the bait are more often than not ended up in losing their bank balances.
In response to a question the President of the Kuwait Society for Information Security, Dr. Safaa Zaman, said fraudsters access the data of victims, citizens or residents, saying the matter is related to insecurity of the information network used by some government agencies or even the private sector, which may fall under the threat of internal hacking operations. It is carried out usually by an employee in the same organization, from which the data is leaked to fraudsters.
Zaman stated that the Information Security Society recently observed that some closed companies operating in the insurance sector sold their customers’ data after they transferred their activities and licenses to general trade and contracting, indicating that Kuwaiti law does not criminalize such procedures, calling for the need for legislation or a decision to prohibit such actions. These issues contribute to the prevalence of fraud against citizens or residents.
She stressed that there is no law that protects data or is held accountable for such abuses in the sale of data by the private sector, and there are no government regulators that monitor contracts concluded with companies working in the field of developing websites and systems for state ministries and agencies, which puts the latter at risk of losing their data or It is in the hands of unofficial parties.
Zaman indicated that government systems, data and applications that are released from time to time are not 100% secure, as the data is not encrypted and its rules are not properly secured, which exposes them to theft.
She indicated the importance of changing the pattern of dealing with government transactions and procedures or in the private sector, through the civil number of the citizen or resident, as obtaining it through delegates or applications facilitates the process of fraud and fraud, especially with fraudsters who have customer data and only need a confirmation number to transfer stolen money.
She called for activating safe financial policies through banks to prevent transfers between accounts without formal communication between customers, if the amounts are large, in order to ensure safety and prevent electronic fraud, which is witnessing a continuous development.
She added, “It is important that there be a specialized department in cybersecurity in Kuwait, away from the cybercrime department, which looks at problems other than online fraud, because the competent departments can prevent fraud and return the stolen money faster and easier.”
In addition, the Ministry of Affairs called on citizens and residents, to exercise caution, as a result of the actions of some fake and suspicious accounts that impersonate the Ministry on Facebook and other websites, by placing false advertisements about providing a financial grant and requesting Through which they send the phone number and some personal information with the aim of fraud and electronic hacking.
Steps to face scam emails
■ Download the call blocker application and filter calls and annoying messages.
■ Activate the feature to silence unknown callers.
■ Do not give the phone number easily to any person or entity.
■ Confirm the contact and the purpose of the request.
■ Do not answer automated calls from unknown destinations.
Recent scams included requests for
■ A vaccination certificate to amend the data
■ Call to schedule a third vaccination
■ Announcement of winning a mobile phone
■ Internet package renewal announcement
■ Renewal of government health insurance
■ Offer social assistance to citizens
■ Request donations from charities
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