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Batelco has issued an alert to customers over an international ring of fraudsters attempting to con people into revealing personal information.
Bahrain residents have received phone calls from an international number informing them that they have won a large sum of money from the company. The caller requests the full name and CPR number of the person among other details and information.
"Batelco stresses that such phone calls are not legitimate and are designed to collect information from customers in order to fraudulently gain access to their computer password protected information and bank accounts," warned Batelco Group general manager (media and government relations) Ahmed Al Janahi.
"All such methods to lure people into providing personal information are Phishing attempts which is a growing international problem. Phishing emails, SMS and even phone calls are designed to look and feel legitimate and often use the real logos and marketing messages of the company they are faking," Mr Al Janahi explained.
'Phishing' is an attempt to fraudulently acquire sensitive information, such as usernames and passwords by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. As more people have become aware of the threats of fraudulent emails, the criminals behind such schemes have devised alternative methods such as telephone calls and SMS.
"However, we must stress that no trustworthy Internet services provider or telecom company will ever seek to obtain personal information by email or phone.
"We advise our customers who have any doubts at all about the legitimacy of such requests for information, to go directly to the real source - in this case Batelco."
If you receive any suspicious phone calls, SMS messages or email messages, customers should contact the Batelco Call Centre on 196.
