Qatar Central Bank and the banks operating in Qatar stressed the need to protect bank data for individuals and emphasize not to participate with any party or individuals who request them only after contacting these bodies and ensuring the truth of these contacts. Some bank customers had received video calls whose members claimed that they were from the responsible authorities and asked for banking data and information, which is the first time that gangs have resorted to this type of communication.
New warning messages
The banks operating in Qatar sent new warning messages to all customers asking them to be cautious and cautious of all types of electronic crimes such as phone calls and social media, emails, short text messages, and websites links.
Banks and Qatar Central Bank have asked individuals to follow the guidelines of protection crimes, which include avoiding responding to unknown messages. And not sharing information and personal data and avoiding their participation on social media platforms. And make sure the identity of friends on social media platforms, and be satisfied with communicating with the people you know.
Ensure that age and content control elements are set for young users. The guidelines included verifying well from the contact. And pay attention to the unfamiliar and fake titles. And beware of very urgent messages that call for urgent action. Opening suspicious links and attachments.
As for the guidelines for protection from fraudulent hunting through text messages, they included avoiding opening links in SMS and always verifying the identity of the sender. If the sender seems suspicious, contact the concerned authority directly through its official channels.
For contacts, avoid responding to unknown international calls.
Be careful with suspicious local contacts. And avoid sharing your personal information over the phone. Do not share your financial information, such as your credit card data or one -time password (OTP).
And if you think the call is fraudulent, call the party from which the call was claimed. When your bank card is lost, stop it immediately through the bank’s communication centers or mobile application.
And protect yourself from remote access attacks by adhering to the following directives: You will not ask you any legal company to download certain programs or applications to benefit from its services. Avoid sharing bank account details or passwords with anyone. And make sure not to use the general Wi-Fi networks to access the Internet, especially when dealing with sensitive information. Avoid using (USB) devices from unknown or unreliable sources. Also, financial institutions do not provide support by phone unless the customer takes the initiative to call them.
“We are all conscious” campaign
The Qatar Central Bank, in cooperation and coordination with the Ministry of Interior and the National Cyber Security Agency and the Qatar Financial Center Organization Authority, launched an awareness national campaign with information security under the slogan /we are all conscious /.
The Qatar Central Bank pointed out that the launch of the campaign falls within the framework of the state’s keenness to enhance awareness of the dangers of cybersecurity, and in line with its vision towards building a safe and conscious society to confront the future challenges that accompany the accelerating technological revolution.
The awareness campaign aims to spread awareness among the public about the dangers of financial fraud and highlight the cyber threats that may face them in light of the tremendous technological and digital development, and to provide them with practical strategies to avoid a victim of such threats.
The campaign focused in particular on three main threats; First: The fraudulent hunting in which the fraudsters impersonate the character of entities to obtain important personal information from the victims via email or text messages. Second: Alerting the danger of receiving fraudulent calls. Third: The indication of the importance of maintaining the confidentiality of data while directing individuals to the necessity of taking the highest levels of caution when sharing their personal information.
To complete the continuous efforts in this regard, the Qatar Central Bank and its partners in this campaign are looking to reaffirm cyber threats, provide the public with the basic information they need to protect themselves and their money, and make them aware that their personal data is not shared on social media to reduce electronic crimes; Raising awareness of individuals is a major pillar of building a safe electronic system, and is no less important than developing a safe operating system that adopts the latest advanced technological innovations, especially since any shortcomings in one of its components represents a threat to the entire system.
By highlighting the risks constantly on the digital scene in general, the campaign determines the main channels of electronic fraud such as phone calls, social media, emails, short text messages, and websites.
The Central Bank of Qatar, in addition to its partners in this campaign, emphasized the vital role of the continuous awareness efforts in building a safer society electronically and able to address these threats.
In light of the accelerated technological development, cyber threats develop, which in turn requires the continuation of educational efforts, increased awareness of individuals and enhancing electronic security levels and procedures. From this standpoint, the Central Bank of Qatar and partner institutions, through this campaign, seeks to enable and protect individuals and institutions, consolidate the e -vigilance culture, and protect them from cyber threats that take various forms and images on continuously.