BENEFIT supports financial fraud prevention campaign in the Kingdom

By Leandra Monteiro

BENEFIT, a FinTech and electronic financial transactions service in the Kingdom, will support the Bahrain Association of Banks (BAB) National Fraud Prevention Awareness Campaign. The campaign is in line with Bahrain’s Vision 2030 to position the Kingdom as a frontrunner within the financial sector in the Middle East and North Africa region.

Fraud and financial crime are on the rise in the Middle East, according to the latest survey from professional services firm PwC. There has been a steep rise in financial crime in the Middle East during the past two years, with nearly half of all local companies reporting at least one occurrence over that period.

The National Fraud Prevention Awareness Campaign will bring to light several electronic fraud operations targeting bank customers. The campaign will depend mainly on broadcasting awareness messages through various channels directed to all segments and ages of users of banking services in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

The campaign was launched under the hashtag #be_careful including awareness messages through videos and photos published on the association’s Instagram, in addition to television and radio messages in different languages, including Arabic, English, and Urdu.

BENEFIT’s Chief Executive, Abdulwahed AlJanahi commented, “As a leader within the space, we develop and support continuous efforts to consolidate and push forward the achievements in combating fraud to better safeguard individuals and the overall communities in Bahrain. It is our responsibility and duty to come together for crucial campaigns especially in a time where the threat of online fraud is significant. Digitisation and online financial activities are accelerating at a rapid pace, and fraud has been a worldwide issue due to the current pandemic.”

He added, “The National Fraud Awareness Campaign is an important step to increase awareness and educate customers on what they need to be aware of. what is expected of them and the role they play in prevention. As BENEFIT, we are pleased to join this cause  to highlight the fraud risks, respond quickly and ultimately emerge stronger.”

Dr. Waheed Al Qassim, CEO of the Bahrain Association of Banks, welcomed the accession of the Benefit Company to the list of partners of the campaign aiming to promote awareness of financial fraud methods. He stressed the significance of Benefit’s support in achieving the objectives of this campaign and affirmed the Association’s keenness to continuously develop the content of this campaign in consultation with all its members to strengthen the reliability of money transfer operations and promote the leading position and reputation of the banking sector in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Al Qassim explained that the campaign will depend mainly on broadcasting awareness messages through various channels directed to all segments and ages of users of banking services in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Moreover, it includes an explanation of the latest updates of financial fraud and piracy’s method since fraudsters always resort to developing their methods of hacking their victims’ accounts.

The campaign in partnership with the Central Bank of Bahrain, General Directorate of Anti-corruption and Economic and Electronic Security at the Ministry of Interior, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, and members of the Association from financial and banking institutions.