Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain – 15^th September 2020 – The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) would like to warn consumers to be cautious and vigilant in of short message services (SMS), telephone calls, smartphone applications and websites when dealing with their personal and banking information.

This warning comes as a result of increased cyber attacks and fraud globally during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In particular, the CBB urges consumers to:

• Check SMS alerts in order to keep track of banking transactions.
• Not respond to any calls received through smartphone apps (such as Viber, etc.) claiming to be the bank service provider and requesting personal and banking information. Banks would never use a smartphone app to request sensitive information.
• Not enter sensitive information in any pop-up windows whilst browsing.
• Always change the PIN and password assigned by the bank while accessing Internet Banking Services for the first time and remember to change it periodically.
• Be alert about any fake websites, emails, telephone calls and text messages which are possibly linked to fraud organizations specialized in embezzlement.
• Not reveal banking information to any third party and ensure that it is kept private and confidential.