Clare: Attracting investors and limiting currency smuggling.. Specialist explains the importance of “digitizing” Iraqi banks
Financial and economic expert Nawar Al-Saadi revealed, today, Friday (August 16, 2024), the importance of the benefits of “digitizing” financial transactions for Iraqi banks, while pointing out that digitization can enhance financial inclusion by attracting users who do not deal with traditional banks by providing easy-to-access and easy-to-use services.
Al-Saadi told Baghdad Today that “digitizing financial transactions in Iraqi banks can provide significant benefits, especially in terms of reducing currency smuggling,” indicating that “by adopting digital systems, banks can track all financial transfers with greater accuracy and transparency. This means that each transaction is automatically recorded and saved in a central database that can be reviewed at any time. This allows the relevant authorities to monitor and quickly detect suspicious financial activities, making it difficult for smugglers to exploit the financial system to smuggle currencies.”
“Digitizing the banking system contributes to reducing money laundering cases, as these operations usually depend on exploiting loopholes in traditional systems, but with an advanced digital system, these operations become more complex. Digitization also allows the use of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence to analyze patterns in banking data and identify any abnormal or suspicious transactions,” he added, stressing that “this helps prevent money laundering by early identification of unusual activities and reporting them to the competent authorities.”
Al-Saadi explained that “to implement this digital transformation in Iraq, there is a need for investments in technological infrastructure and developing the institutional capabilities of banks,” noting that “this requires providing modern technology, training employees to use it effectively, in addition to developing legislation and laws that protect users and encourage digital transactions. It is also important to enhance customer awareness of the benefits of digital transactions and build their confidence in the new systems.”
He stressed that “digitization in banks contributes to achieving more transparency and credibility in the financial system, as each transaction can be easily tracked and reviewed. It also improves the operational efficiency of banks by completing transactions faster and at a lower cost. In terms of security, digitization provides higher levels of protection against fraud and theft through advanced encryption technologies.”
The financial and economic expert concluded by saying, “Digitization can enhance financial inclusion by attracting users who do not deal with traditional banks by providing easy-to-access and easy-to-use services. Digitizing financial transactions in Iraqi banks also has great potential to enhance economic stability and reduce the risks associated with money laundering and currency smuggling, leading to a safer and more efficient financial system.” LINK
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Clare: Rafidain Bank warns its customers of “electronic fraud” and issues instructions to them
8/16/2024
Rafidain Bank confirmed, on Friday, its keenness to educate its customers and the public about sound practices in using electronic services in general, and to direct the customer to take caution and care, to ward off the risks that may result from any attempts to access the customer’s personal and financial information, through electronic fraud, telephone fraud, viruses and spyware, and identity theft.
In a statement today, Rafidain Bank recommended its customers to adhere to the following guidelines: Avoid easy knowledge of the password, keep it confidential, avoid using common and well-known passwords that are easy to guess, and change them periodically. The bank advised its customers – for their security and safety – to refrain from using known information such as date of birth, phone number, or any easily recognizable part of the customer’s name as a password.
The bank’s statement urged customers to avoid disclosing their password and personal data, and to maintain the confidentiality of their salary card number (Master or Visa Card), Internet banking, and mobile banking application, and not to disclose them even to bank employees, stressing that the customer’s information and data, whether domiciled in his salary or otherwise, should be updated whenever there is a change through the branches.
The bank directed its customers to “continuously check your account movements (via account statement, movements in the phone application), and if you have any doubts about any of them, visit your branch or the Banking Awareness and Public Protection Department in the bank’s general management.”
The statement gave examples of fraudulent messages, “These messages are sent to you by someone impersonating an employee at the bank you deal with, who sends you messages asking you for information about your bank account or credit card under the pretext of verifying their numbers.”
Fraud by tricking your account into browsing
The bank explained that many users were trapped on social networks through the trick of “Find out who browsed your Facebook account” or any other social network.
Prize Winning Messages
The bank noted that “such messages claim that you have won valuable prizes or a trip to a certain country, and the sender of the message asks you to pay a certain amount to receive your prize. Never do that.”
Fundraising fraud
The statement stressed that “they collect money in a deceptive manner, as these fraudsters publish fake stories about a patient’s need for treatment, a poor family, or others, and ask for donations from social media users.”
Online job postings
The bank said, “If you apply for a job online, you will definitely be asked to fill out an application form. You can do that, but be careful not to write down your bank account number and credit card.”
Tips to protect yourself from fraud attempts
The bank addressed customers, saying: Do not interact with people who ask you to pay a small amount of money to get a prize, gift, or other offers.
The statement continued, “You do not agree to transfer a conversation with a specific person outside of social networks, such as communicating via WhatsApp or providing that person’s email address.”
The bank called on customers to verify the identity of people who message them due to an emergency, claiming to be their friends or relatives, warning that messages that contain spelling and grammatical errors are always suspect and you should be careful of them.
The bank also said in its recommendations to customers and clients, “If you want to provide assistance or help, do so through official and trusted sources,” stressing that “do not trust pages that represent large companies or public figures that you have not verified.”
He also continued, “Do not trust any social media pages that claim to make you a quick profit through the Internet or working from home,” stressing that “do not click on links that you receive via WhatsApp or social networks or those that are published in comments.”
The bank urged customers to take precautions and be careful to avoid falling victim to criminal methods that aim to defraud citizens and steal their money by having people impersonate employees working in financial institutions, international institutions or private companies, and then do the following:
Communicating with customers via social media (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp) under the pretext of providing financial assistance, prizes, or monthly salaries for a specific period, in exchange for obtaining the customer’s personal information, data and a picture of the bank card granted to him, the secret number, and the OTP verification code.
Use the data and information necessary to create accounts in the name of customers, modify their account data, update their data, or request the number that will be sent to you via SMS, and then carry out electronic transfer operations for the purposes of paying bills and purchases, charging mobile phone balances, or making electronic financial transfers to other persons.
Communicating with the beneficiaries of the money transfers under the pretext that they were executed in their favor by mistake, and then asking them to reverse the amount by transferring it to a specific account or charging a specific phone balance. LINK
