Many residents of Bahrain have been the victims of phishing attacks with their email accounts being hijacked and used to send spam to the people in their email address books, said a top official of Batelco.

They also complain of the growing number of spam emails they receive on a daily basis, said Ahmed Al Janahi, Batelco group general manager media & government relations.

“Batelco has identified a number of such cases of email accounts engaged in spamming activities and has taken appropriate actions to stop the spam immediately,” said Al Janahi.

“However, it is important to note that in general people are completely unaware that their email account has been compromised and that they are responsible for spam attacks on their friends’ and families’ email addresses which are listed in their email address books.”

“Furthermore, the number of people who are conned into providing confidential information to sources that seem legitimate is also on the increase, as those behind phishing scams use ever more convincing methods to persuade people to part with such confidential information as their passwords, bank account details and on many occasions money,” he added.

Al Janahi continued: “It is lack of awareness that can lead to such incidents but with some education into what to look out for and by taking some simple steps, people can be spared a great deal of inconvenience.”

Batelco has also posted detailed information on its website batelco.com/portal/broadband/security.asp.

“The posted information includes a glossary of all the terminology customers may come across such as phishing, virus, Trojan, spyware, etc. as understanding all this jargon can be very difficult for many users. We have also included guidelines and useful tips on how to protect your system,” Al Janahi concluded. – TradeArabia News Service