A Guide to Recognizing Modern Fraud Techniques

Safeguarding Your Finances: A Guide to Recognizing Modern Fraud Techniques

Why scammers Succeed and how you can stay protected?
Scammers are smart! If you don't know what to watch out for, anyone can fall victim to a scam. Scams target people from all backgrounds, ages, and income levels. Everyone is susceptible to scams, so everyone needs information on how to identify them and ways to avoid them.

Elements of this article
• What are the various types of financial fraud and how can you spot a forger?
• Which scam methods are most prevalent today and how do they operate?
• How can you fortify your defenses against financial scams?
• Where can you find reliable help and support in the event of financial fraud?

At the beginning, why do financial scams succeed?

Scams succeed because they seem realistic and come at unexpected times. They can include an extremely tempting offer, a phone call to fix some fault you have, a threat to pay a debt you don't owe, a warning from the bank about a problem in your account, or even an invitation to participate in a contest and win a large sum with very simple registration conditions!

Modern scammers' methods are unprecedented; because today's age witnesses rapid development in the field of technology and electronic payment methods. With this tremendous progress comes an increased likelihood of falling victim to fraudulent activities. Moreover, these scammers may obtain some of your personal information from social media to make their demands seem more credible.

What are the various types of financial fraud and how can you spot a forger?
Here are the most common 6 modern methods of financial fraud:

First Method: Investment Fraud
Where individuals are lured with tempting promises to invest in unknown projects, and over time it turns out that these projects do not actually exist. They are either fake projects, still on paper, or their owners do not intend to complete them.

Second Method: Internet Fraud
Also known as "deceptive financial pyramid scheme", which relies on providing monthly returns to previous members from the money of the newer, more numerous subscribers.

Third Method: Financial Brokerage Services
Where you are persuaded to allow someone to invest your money "on your behalf" in foreign currency markets, stocks, digital currencies, or any other financial activity.
Fourth Method: Charity Projects
This involves exploiting emotions and soliciting money under the pretext of establishing charitable projects, but that is just a cover for other purposes.

Fifth Method: Online Fraud
This is one of the most common types of fraud worldwide, and in this type of fraud, you rarely know who you are dealing with. This type is the most dangerous, as it includes all previous activities on the internet, including email, phone calls, digital ads, fake websites, and so on.

Sixth Method: Legal Name Fraud
In this type, scammers pretend to be official entities and impersonate known governmental, financial, or commercial entities, and the victim gets involved with them in a failed project or unfair partnership that takes place through an informal agreement or duplicate contract.

How can you fortify your defenses against financial scams?
To protect yourself from fraud, pay attention to the following 4 steps:

Follow the News
Make sure to continually understand and follow the ways of money fraud and heed the warnings issued by official entities.

Be Cautious
When it comes to sharing your personal and financial information, do not rush to do so no matter what the means of communication - whether through electronic links, text messages, websites, or even phone calls claiming to be from a certain party.

Verify Identity
Always verify the identity and legitimacy of any entity asking for your personal and financial information through unofficial means such as text messages, mail links, or social media.

Prompt Reporting
If you suspect that you have been a victim of financial fraud, report it to the financial entity you were dealing with and the competent security authorities.

Ensuring Safe Online Shopping Transactions
- Check the credibility and security of the website or application of the online store when making purchases online.
- Make sure the internet connection is secure during online shopping.
- Review your bank statement and incoming text messages from the bank to ensure that unauthorized financial operations were not carried out.
- Do not save banking card information on untrusted online shopping sites.
- Keep your banking card information confidential and do not share it with anyone.

Where can you find reliable help and support in the event of financial fraud?

In case you fall victim to online fraud, immediately report it to the financial institution you deal with and the competent security authorities if you suspect that you have been subjected to a financial fraud operation through:
- Accessing the portal of the Ministry of Interior (Absher).
- Click on Public Security Services.
- Select the report of cybercrimes.
- Select the type of report and fill in the required fields.
- After sending the report, you will be provided with a reference number for the report.

The Saudi Central Bank:
- In case of financial fraud, a complaint can be submitted through the "Saudi Central Bank" via the fraud complaints service.
In the event of financial fraud, a complaint can be submitted through the "Saudi Central Bank" via the fraud complaints service, through the following steps:

1. Visit the official website of the Saudi Central Bank through this link https://www.sama.gov.sa/ar-sa/pages/contactus.aspx
2. Click on the services menu.
3. From the services menu, choose “Complaints” https://www.sama.gov.sa/en-us/consumerprotection/pages/complaint.aspx
4. A new page will appear containing different complaints in the list (b).
5. Select banks complaints
6. The site will redirect you to the SAMA portal; “please register the required information”
7. After logging into SAMA, the complaints section will be accessible.
8. You will receive an email with the complaint number for follow-up purposes.

In conclusion,
Vigilance and awareness are key to protecting against financial fraud. Protect your funds and personal data, as they are an integral part of your financial future. Always remember that immunization against fraud begins with awareness and avoiding risks as much as possible to protect your assets and wealth.