Saudi banks, a committee of various banks in Saudi Arabia, has launched its fourth anti-fraud campaign under the title "Do not disclose it" which is aimed to educate its customers and the general public of the different fraud operations and methods of protection, reports said Sunday.

The campaign will until the end of the year and focus on the importance of safeguarding personal information, banking records and PIN numbers, a statement from the bank said.

During the campaign, special stands will be placed in major malls and commercial centers in Saudi Arabia, to raise awareness, promoting the culture of banking industry among the society and educating customers on the importance of maintaining confidentiality of personal information and banking records by not disclosing them under any circumstances to unknown individuals or strangers.

Talat Zaki Hafiz, secretary general of Media & Banking Awareness Committee of Saudi Banks (MBAC), said it has adopted a long-term strategy to inform and educate its customers and the public at large of the importance of compliance to the instructions and warnings related to the implementation of banking operations, particularly through electronic banking channels such as telephone banking, internet banking, and ATMs, as well as credit cards, so as to achieve maximum protection for their savings, financial and personal rights against attempts of breach or fraud.

"The new stage of the awareness campaign, being implemented by Saudi banks constitutes an extension of the previous awareness campaigns launched in the past years, which reflected the positive interaction among bank clients, and attracted the attention and appreciation of various authorities concerned with combating financial and banking fraud attempts," he said.

Special educational material in the form of awareness leaflets will be disturbed to shoppers, general public and visitors of the stands.

Such leaflets include valuable advices, instructions and tips regarding the safeguarding of personal information and banking records.

Saudi banks through the campaign will focus on the safest and optimum use of electronic banking channels and also addresses awareness messages directly to the various segments of the society regarding the negative phenomena and the banking behaviors by which the fraudsters exploit customers.

In addition to distributing leaflets, the bank will throughout the campaign, emphasize the importance of safeguarding and maintaining the confidentiality of personal information, banking records and passwords of bank cards such as ATM and credit cards.

"In line with the educational strategy followed by Saudi banks, we are always working to add all that is innovative to reach out to various members of society. Our aim is always to take part in community programmes that help disseminate our mission, which is reflected in promoting awareness of the concepts of the banking industry and making a quality transition in the level of knowledge of new developments and changes witnessed by the banking arena, both domestically and internationally."

"The main objective of the mall campaign is to create a platform whereby the bank can engage and interact with customers informally over the weekend. The visitors of these centers/stands will be offered educational leaflets that contain complete information letters, tips and guidelines so that they can prevent financial and banking fraud attempts," he added.

"Summer is one of the most active periods of the year when it comes to the use of credit cards. People use their cards to book their vacations, pay for their flights and shopping when abroad. While the campaign will run during the summer, the bank will run activities all year round to ensure that banking customers know about the most common types of fraud and how to prevent fraud happening to them," he pointed out.