Baghdad – WAA
Today, Saturday, Rafidain Bank warned its customers against electronic fraud and issued several guidelines.
Rafidain Bank said in a statement received by the (INA): “The bank is keen to educate its customers and the public about sound practices in using electronic services in general, and to direct the customer to take caution and care, to ward off the risks that may result from any attempts to access the customer’s personal and financial information, through electronic fraud, telephone fraud, viruses and spyware, and identity theft.”
He added, “Rafidain Bank recommends its customers to adhere to the following instructions:
1- Avoid easy-to-know passwords, keep them confidential, avoid using common and well-known passwords that are easy to guess, and change them periodically. The bank advises its customers – for their security and safety – to refrain from using known information such as date of birth, phone number, or any easily recognizable part of the customer’s name as a password.
2- Avoid disclosing your password and personal data, and maintain the confidentiality of your salary card number (Master or Visa Card), Internet banking, and phone banking application, and do not disclose them even to bank employees.
3- Updating the customer’s information and data, such as his salary or other domicile, whenever there is a change through the branches.
4- Continuously check your account movements (via account statement, movements in the phone application), and if you have any doubts about any of them, visit your branch or the Banking Awareness and Public Protection Department in the bank’s general management.
The bank explained that “there are examples of fraudulent messages, including:
1- Phishing messages
These messages are sent to you by someone impersonating an employee at your bank, who sends you messages asking you for information about your bank account or credit card under the pretext of verifying their numbers.
2- Fraud by tricking your account into browsing
Many users have been trapped on social networks through the trick of “Know who viewed your Facebook account” or any other social network.
3- Prize winning messages
Such messages claim that you have won valuable prizes or a trip to a certain country, and the sender of the message asks you to pay a certain amount to receive your prize. Never do that.
4- Donation fraud
Fraudulent fundraising, where these scammers spread fake stories about a patient in need of treatment, a poor family, etc., and ask for donations from social media users.
5- Online job offers
If you apply for a job online, you will definitely be asked to fill out an application form. You can do that, but be careful not to write down your bank account number and credit card number.
The bank pointed out “tips to protect against fraud attempts as follows:
A- Do not interact with people who ask you to pay a small amount of money to get a prize, gift, or other offers.
B- Verify the identity of the people who message you due to an emergency and claim to be your friends or relatives.
T- Messages that contain spelling and grammatical errors are always suspect and you should be careful of them.
C- If you want to provide assistance or help, do so through official and trusted sources.
C- Do not trust pages that represent large companies or public figures that you have not verified.
H- Do not trust any social media pages that claim to make you a quick profit through the Internet or work from home.
K- Do not click on links that you receive via WhatsApp, social networks, or those posted in comments.
D- Do not agree to transfer a conversation with a specific person outside of social networks, such as communicating via WhatsApp or providing this person’s email address.”
The bank stressed, “taking precautionary measures to avoid falling victim to criminal methods that aim to defraud citizens and steal their money by having people impersonate employees working in financial institutions, international institutions or private companies, and then doing the following:
1- Communicating with customers via social media (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp) under the pretext of providing financial assistance, prizes, or monthly salaries for a specific period, in exchange for obtaining the customer’s personal information, data, and a picture of the bank card granted to him, the secret number, and the OTP verification code.
2- Use the data and information necessary to create accounts in the name of customers, modify their account data, update their data, or request the number that will be sent to you via SMS, and then carry out electronic transfer operations for the purposes of paying bills and purchases, charging mobile phone balances, or making electronic financial transfers to other persons.
3- Communicating with the beneficiaries of the financial transfers under the pretext that they were executed in their favor by mistake, and then asking them to reverse the amount by transferring it to a specific account or charging a specific phone balance.