The Communications Authority Handled 156 Fraud and Scam Reports in July

The Public Authority for Communications and Information Technology (CITRA) revealed that it handled 156 reports related to fraud and scams via suspicious messages, links, and calls during July last year, marking a 122.8% increase and an addition of 86 reports on a monthly basis, compared to 70 reports in June.

CITRA’s statistics showed that the reports were distributed across several channels, with reports via websites ranking first at 54 reports, up 38.4%, followed by phone calls at 52 reports, up 1,200%. Reports via social media platforms totaled 24, up 20%, while reports via the WhatsApp application reached approximately 26, up 333%.

The authority emphasized the importance of immediately reporting any suspicious messages, links, or calls, urging users not to share personal or banking data with untrusted entities and to verify the identity of parties requesting sensitive information.

CITRA had received 1,149 complaints in the first quarter, distributed among 776,000 complaints under processing, 64 awaiting the service provider, 104 in progress, 17 under investigation, and 10 canceled. In the second quarter, the authority received 2,623 complaints, distributed among 2,196,000 complaints under processing, 256 awaiting the service provider, 123 in progress, 26 under investigation, and 5 canceled.