Kuwait Finance House (KFH) warned of the danger of new forms of fraud that have emerged recently, intending to hack customers' bank accounts and steal their money.

In a press release and as part of its efforts to support the (Diraya) campaign to spread banking awareness in cooperation with the Central Bank of Kuwait and the Kuwait Banking Association, KFH pointed out that fraudsters do not stop developing new means to harm those who fall into their traps and taking advantage of the technological development in payment methods, the growth of e-commerce and the growing importance of smartphones.

KFH added that some fraudsters may use advanced AI techniques and learn from a wide network of data to review online purchases and patterns that indicate the characteristics of the customer whose money they aspire to steal and breach his privacy, this is where fraud succeeds because it seems real and compatible with the interests and practices of the person. New tricks have spread such as fake mail parcels or winning fake prizes and investing with companies that do not exist, and the trick of the important person, in addition to exploiting occasions, disasters, and events in collecting donations to deliver to those in need.

The statement explained that fraud is practically targeting all levels and ages in different forms. It can be a tempting offer that is not true, a warning from your bank about a problem in your account, or even an invitation to a friend on the Internet, or a phone call for help.  Fraudsters take advantage of modern technology, new products and services, and major events, to fabricate stories that rob the person of their money and information.

Among the most prominent forms of fraud that are currently popular, through the phone or the Internet:

Account takeover: The thief impersonates an employee of a bank with whom the victim deals. He asks the victim for information related to the bank card under the pretext of stopping suspicious financial transactions or updating his data before stopping the card, and after the fraudster obtains the card data, he exploits it to steal and transfer money to his accounts.

Online fraud: A message with a link, asking the victim to click on it to access a specific site or to vote on a referendum, and if the link is clicked, the victim's device is hacked, and their data is accessed and exploited for malicious purposes.

Mail parcel: A new method that has spread recently, in which thieves send messages to their victims asking them to transfer small amounts of money that do not raise suspicion, such as subscription fees in a draw on prizes of great financial value or claiming that a message or mail parcel arrived in the name of the victim and the victim needs to pay a small fee to release it.  The goal is not the announced amount, but the important banking information entered by the alleged parcel owner, and immediately his account is hacked, and his balance is withdrawn.

Helping disaster victims: Fraud gangs take advantage of natural disasters, sending donation emails via bank transfers.

Winning the lottery: The target receives an email informing them that they have won an international lottery, even though they did not participate in it. The danger lies in answering the message.

Investment opportunities: Those who claim to be representatives of an investment company with promising opportunities and need information about those who are willing to participate, including banking data and information.