Many Saudi Arabian customers have fallen victim to financial fraud, especially after the spread of electronic payment methods, as some customers discovered that their bank accounts had been emptied, making purchases from unknown sites, which led the Saudi Arabian Central Bank (SAMA) to take new measures to protect its customers.

Starting from 10th April 2022, the Saudi Central Bank announced several new measures to protect bank customers from financial fraud and all bank dealers. These measures are temporary and urgent.

* Opening new bank accounts through online platforms has been suspended until further notice.

* Individuals and institutions are limited to a total of 60,000 riyals per day in online transfers.

* In addition to raising the maximum daily transfer limit, customers can take all necessary steps to reduce crime and fraud.

* Online money transfer beneficiaries will no longer be able to be added by non-Saudi customers. They must add them in person.

* Domestic transfers will take 2 hours while international transfers will take 24 hours.

* Saudi banks should warn customers not to divulge and neglect any bank or personal information, and to deal with data of secret numbers and verification codes with caution in cases of these fraudulent operations.

* Consider the level of trust and security of websites before making any transfers or purchases.

* According to the Central Bank, a noticeable increase in the number of financial fraud operations targeting bank customers has been noticed. Impersonating a responsible party and persuading a customer to disclose his private bank information, such as security codes and passwords, so that fraudsters can easily access and seize bank accounts.

SOURCE : SAUDI EXPATRIATES