Tech 4 Peace
Beware of fake accounts scamming citizens under the pretense of booking dollars for travelers.
A page named "News Baghdad" on the social media site Facebook published a post that reads: "The link for booking travelers and Umrah for all days has been launched through WhatsApp at the Central Bank rate of 1320 Iraqi dinars."
The Truth
The attached link belongs to a fraudulent site, not affiliated with the (Trade Bank of Iraq), as the official website link of the bank is https://tbi.com.iq, which consists of the initials of its full name with the Iraqi domain (.iq), without the word (bank) as in the fraudulent site link.
A screenshot of the official website interface of the Trade Bank of Iraq.
Such pages engage in fraud by deceiving users into creating a fake website similar to official bank sites. When clicking on the link attached to the fake page's post, which claims that travelers can book to obtain dollars through it, a front page similar to the homepage of the official Trade Bank of Iraq website appears.
A screenshot of the fraudulent fake website shows the booking requirement to obtain dollars at the official rate by contacting a WhatsApp number that uses the bank's logo as its image, and sending several personal documents that should not be shared with anyone such as:
- Passport
- National ID card
- Residence card
- Electronic payment card (Visa or MasterCard)
Meanwhile, the mechanism for booking to obtain dollars for travelers is done by filling out a form available on the official website of several banks and companies with some key information, primarily (travel ticket and entry visa), to obtain an appointment to visit the bank. The traveler then receives the equivalent amount in Iraqi dinars from the bank and collects the dollars from the bank's branch located at the airport before traveling.
For its part, the Trade Bank of Iraq confirmed that it does not accept any bookings through offices, companies, or intermediary entities. It emphasized that any customer who uses the application process through these offices and companies will be denied this service, and that applications are exclusively through the bank's official website.
It is worth noting that the application form for the (sale of cash dollars to citizens) service available on the Trade Bank of Iraq's website is currently not available.
Therefore, the Peace Tech Team warns against dealing with links issued by unknown and unofficial entities, as most of them aim to harm the user. It is worth noting that we have previously warned about many fraudulent links.
