Kuwait City, Apr 29: Kuwait International Bank (KIB) continues to improve banking protection measures, and to dedicate all efforts aimed at enhancing customer awareness and financial literacy, particularly concerning the increasing incidents of financial fraud. This initiative is part of the ‘Let’s Be Aware’ (Diraya) financial awareness campaign, which was launched four years ago by the Central Bank of Kuwait and the Kuwait Banking Association, in collaboration with local Kuwaiti banks. KIB’s efforts in this area reflect its ongoing commitment to protecting its customers’ assets and elevating their banking experience to new levels of security and reliability.

In discussing the Bank's direction in this matter, Ammar Maqamess, Manager of the Electronic Banking Services Department at KIB, said: “At KIB, we reaffirm our ongoing commitment to tracking and combating any financial fraud attempts that our customers might encounter, whether they originate from fake advertisements intended to violate their privacy and steal their financial and personal data, or from other increasingly varied methods we've observed recently.” Maqamess added: “To achieve the main goal of our efforts in ensuring the reliability of banking operations, we continually work on developing banking protection systems and enhancing measures that provide our customers with a secure experience across all our banking channels, such as the KIB mobile app, KIB online service, and more.”

Maqamess pointed out that KIB enhanced its data protection measures by introducing confirmation steps to the process of adding a new beneficiary through its online banking services. The steps involve sending a message containing a one-time password (OTP) to the customer’s mobile phone. The message includes the name of the new beneficiary and the Bank’s contact information in the event of suspected fraud. The Bank also sends a notification about the success or failure of the process. More importantly, the Bank will not activate the beneficiary before the lapse of at least 12 hours, unless the customer contacts the Bank to confirm adding the beneficiary from their part. Additionally, KIB contacts the customer if any suspicious activity or transaction is detected on their bank account, and continues to enhance its security systems and fraud prevention mechanisms for electronic payment links and the financial services it provides to its customers.

It is worth mentioning that KIB recognizes the importance of its leading role in educating its customers to prevent them from falling victim to fraud. The Bank consistently publishes material related to financial awareness on all its digital and electronic channels to guide customers towards safe and appropriate responses to any fraud attempts.

In this context, the Bank reemphasizes the importance of adhering to certain recommendations should one encounter any suspicious fraud attempts. Key among these is the urgent need to report to the customer service center immediately at the number 1866866 if there is any suspicion of a data breach involving financial or personal information, or if unusual activity is observed on bank accounts, ATM cards, or credit cards. Additionally, it is vital not to respond to any calls requesting bank card details or one-time passwords (OTP), to ignore any suspicious emails or text messages, to avoid clicking on links from unknown sources, and to refrain from installing any software requested over a phone call. The Bank also assures that neither it nor any of its employees will, under any circumstances, request any private banking information, one-time passwords (OTP), or passwords in this manner or by any other means.

KIB spares no effort in educating its customers about their banking responsibilities and obligations, emphasizing the importance of activating notifications to monitor the details of each banking transaction and ensure their accuracy and security. This is particularly crucial when making payments via electronic and digital channels. Additionally, the Bank encourages regular and consistent monitoring of account and credit card balances, as well as frequent updating of passwords and PINs.