Visa provides fraud control training to Kuwait Police Department

The workshop, aimed at training police officers on the latest trends in ATM and electronic payments fraud in addition to sharing Visa's solutions and wealth of expertise in fraud control, is part of Visa's ongoing initiative to combat electronic payment fraud in Kuwait and the rest of the GCC.

The training programme was organised by Visa's Fraud Control Team and was attended by more than 50 participating police officers from the Ministry of Interior's Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and other units. The CID's Director General, Brigadier Abdul Hameed Abdul Raheem Al Awadhi, as well as Brigadier Sheikh Ali Youssef Al-Sabah, Assistant Director General, General Department of Criminal Investigations, were among the workshop's participants.

Commenting on the training exercise which the CID underwent, Brigadier Abdul Hameed Abdul Raheem Al Awadhi, Director General, CID said: 'We are very pleased with Visa's initiative to share with us their best practices in combating payment fraud and this exercise is a clear demonstration of their commitment to combat fraud in Kuwait. The department and each participating officer have benefited tremendously from the programme and we look forward to applying these invaluable skills to proactively address financial crime in the country.'

'Visa continually demonstrates that it is a reliable partner of law enforcement departments in collaboration with the Kuwait banking sector to ensure that we are able to maintain the high security levels that are currently in force in Kuwait. We appreciate Visa's efforts in sharing their expertise and best practices in fraud control to keep us one step ahead of the criminals.'

Wissam Abed, Fraud Control Manager at Visa International Middle East, said 'Visa is committed to extending the efficiencies of electronic payments to the Kuwaiti community and economy. Electronic payments reduce underground economies, bring greater transparency, and attract capital and consumers to the banking system. When coupled with the safe and secure use of these systems, electronic payment systems can play a critical role in helping small business grow. In this respect, we hope that this programme will make a valuable contribution to the development of the banking industry and increasing its security.'

As part of Visa's leading role in fraud control initiatives across the Middle East, a similar training workshop for the Royal Oman Police was conducted last year to highlight fraud trends in Oman. In addition to training for police departments, Visa also regularly hosts fraud control forums across the GCC for banks, risk specialists, merchants and media to present the latest trends in payment card fraud and share the best practices in combating these trends in each country.