Saudi Banks Launch Campaign to Raise Awareness on New Financial Fraud Methods

The Saudi Banks Media and Awareness Committee has launched an awareness campaign tackling the latest fraud methods. 
The Saudi Banks Media and Awareness Committee has launched an awareness campaign tackling the latest fraud methods. 
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Saudi Banks Launch Campaign to Raise Awareness on New Financial Fraud Methods

The Saudi Banks Media and Awareness Committee has launched an awareness campaign tackling the latest fraud methods. 
The Saudi Banks Media and Awareness Committee has launched an awareness campaign tackling the latest fraud methods. 

The Saudi Banks Media and Awareness Committee has launched an awareness campaign tackling the latest fraud methods.

The initiative, "Not normal", aims to expose new methods of financial fraud that exploit technological and social advances.

The initiative focuses on the most common fraud methods, which include impersonating a bank employee, defrauding through anonymous calls and exploiting people by demanding their banking or personal information, and defrauding customers through fake online stores and phishing.

The initiative aims to expose fraud when investing in digital currencies with unknown people or companies.

It targets emotional fraud when people are exploited through a friend request on social media. People can also be deceived through lucrative job offers that sound too good to be true.

The committee warned people to be careful. It advised them against answering telephone calls from unknown numbers where the caller asks for bank details. People must be wary of fake ads and suspicious messages. They must ignore text messages and emails from unknown senders and delete them immediately.

It called on bank customers to protect their accounts and funds by strictly dealing with official authorities.

It stressed the importance of protecting their personal information, bank data and passwords and pin numbers. Moreover, customers must avoid accepting requests for assistance from strangers when using an ATM.

Customers were advised to check the credibility of online shopping websites and travelers were urged to change the password of their bank cards periodically, especially when returning from travel.

Computers must be protected with virus and malware protection programs.



Egypt Completes Trial Run of New Suez Canal Channel Extension

An Egyptian navy vessel see in the Suez Canal, March 30, 2021. (AFP/Getty Images)
An Egyptian navy vessel see in the Suez Canal, March 30, 2021. (AFP/Getty Images)
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Egypt Completes Trial Run of New Suez Canal Channel Extension

An Egyptian navy vessel see in the Suez Canal, March 30, 2021. (AFP/Getty Images)
An Egyptian navy vessel see in the Suez Canal, March 30, 2021. (AFP/Getty Images)

Egypt said on Saturday it had successfully tested a new 10 km channel near the southern end of the Suez Canal.

The Suez Canal Authority said in a statement that during a trial run two ships passed through a new stretch of the canal's two-way section without incident.

Following the 2021 grounding of the container ship Ever Given that blocked the vital waterway for six days, Egypt accelerated plans to extend the second channel in the southern reaches of the canal and widen the existing channel.

Its revenue from the waterway, the gateway to the shortest route between Europe and Asia, has nevertheless tumbled since Yemen's Houthi militias began attacking ships in the Red Sea in November 2023 in what they say is solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Thursday that due to "regional challenges", the country had lost approximately $7 billion in Suez Canal revenue in 2024, marking more than a 60% drop from 2023.

According to the Suez Canal Authority, the latest expansion extends the total length of the canal's two-way section to 82 km from a previous 72 km. The canal is 193 km long in total.

"This expansion will boost the canal's capacity by an additional 6 to 8 ships daily and enhance its ability to handle potential emergencies," the Suez Canal Authority said in its statement.

Earlier this year, Egypt said that it was considering an additional expansion project separate to the 10 km channel extension.