KUWAIT CITY, Sept 2: While the concerned authorities continue to exert tremendous efforts to prevent electronic fraud that has invaded lives in various forms, cybersecurity experts have warned about the spread of a link that takes photographs of whoever clicks it and then the photos are published for the scammers to use in blackmail operations.

These experts disclosed that the unscrupulous individuals involved in the abovementioned operations usually demand money from the victims and threaten to publish the photos if they do not receive the money. This warning was issued after the Cybercrime Department at the Ministry of Interior, in cooperation with the Communications and Information Technology Regulatory Authority (CITRA) and telecommunication companies, blocked 392 fake websites involved in fraud and deception; including 52 websites impersonating Al-Durra Company for the Recruitment of Domestic Workers.

This is in addition to the suspension of about 662 fraudulent local WhatsApp numbers -- 65 percent of which impersonated Al-Durra Company. Chairman of the Cybersecurity Committee at the Electronic Media Union Mohammad Al-Rashidi told the daily that “several Kuwaiti citizens have fallen victim to these links, through which their photographs were taken.” He advises the public to “refrain from clicking suspicious links and to reject requests to access the camera. You have to ignore such links (URLs) because if you fall into the trap, it will be difficult to solve the problem.”

Jamila Al-Otaibi -- a business leader in consulting, training, and digital transformation -- stated that “in light of the rapid development in cybercrime methods; it has become necessary to raise digital awareness to confront the increasing threats. Suspicious links spread through social media or emails could be a tool that hackers use to access photos or personal information for blackmail.

We advise everyone to avoid clicking unknown links or those from unreliable sources.” She stressed the need to take additional security measures; such as activating the two-step verification feature in one’s accounts, using strong and unique passwords for each account, avoiding sharing personal information online unless it is with trusted and known parties, and updating security applications and anti-virus programs regularly to ensure that devices are protected from potential attacks. “In case you fall victim to such links, it is important to immediately report the incident to the concerned authorities and avoid interacting with blackmailers,” she added.