With the advent of online banking, ATMs and other electronic banking devices, the potential for falling victim to fraud has increased dramatically. A campaign scheduled to start next summer will educate consumers about how to protect their money in the age of electronic banking.

“We will launch a new awareness campaign next summer to warn bank customers about fraud operations, especially as most of these frauds take place in the summer when Saudis spend their vacations abroad,” Talaat Hafiz of the Media and Banking Awareness Committee of Saudi Banks (MBAC), said.

In 2012, Saudis used ATMs to withdraw SR 1.5 billion, and complaints of fraud are estimated at 5,000 over the past three years.

“Saudi banks have launched four awareness campaigns since 2009, all designed to warn customers of fraud operations. Saudi banks also coordinate with a number of government agencies to protect accounts and to send warning messages regarding fraud operations,” Hafiz said.

The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) said that crooks are exploiting the ignorance of some bank customers.

Con men talk bank customers into receiving money for them since they claim they have no bank accounts. They then manage to get the customer’s account number and pin number. Other crooks contact bank clients on the phone and pose as bank employees as they request account numbers and passwords in order to update the client’s account.

Those who believe they are the victims of fraud should inform authorities as quickly as possible, SAMA warned.

A recent SAMA report said that there are 12,712 ATMs in the Kingdom, an increase of 8 percent over the previous year. The report also said that Saudi banks opened 44 new branches in 2012, raising the total number of bank locations in the Kingdom to 1,696.

If there is a silver lining to any of this, it is that a fraud operation that has grown in other countries has yet to reach the Kingdom.

“There are gangs that make fake keyboards that look exactly like the real ones,” Hafiz said, “but they enable criminals to obtain card holders’ personal information. Fortunately, we have not seen this in the Kingdom and I hope we never do.”