The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) launched a, ‘Don’t Be Deceived’ national awareness campaign to combat online fraud on Wednesday. The six-month long campaign was launched in the presence of officials from the Public Prosecution, ROP and sectors such as telecom and banking.
The campaign highlights the need to exercise vigilance against falling prey to online criminals. A senior official from the Public Prosecution, Nasser al Suai, said, “Though we have strict laws on Internet security it is tough to catch hold of culprits. The campaign aims at curbing the incidents of online fraud that have been taking place in different ways with rapid developments in technology.”
Suai said people fall prey to phishing and phone scams that promise cash prizes. “These scammers trick people into giving their personal information and money. The campaign calls for all citizens and residents to be cautious and refrain from sending any personal information or bank account details to anyone.”
Capt Ghassan al Zadjali from the Criminal Investigations Department of ROP said, “We nabbed several people from Barka recently. All were Asian nationals. It is tough to prove charges against them in a court of law because they use fake names and IDs. Secondly, though they may be operating from Oman, they use stolen identity proofs of people not in Oman which makes it tough to track their activities.”