AI crime alert

Voice-cloned scams and fake online meetings spreading fast, warns Attorney General

TDT | Manama

Email : editor@newsofbahrain.com

Voice-cloned scams and fake online meetings are no longer fringe tricks, Attorney General Dr Ali bin Fadhel Al Buainain said, warning that organised cyber-fraud is spreading fast and draining both state resources and people’s savings, with prosecutors stepping up legal action and prevention work.

Speaking at a forum on strengthening national capabilities to combat organised fraud, held on Monday by the Public Prosecution with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and the Judicial and Legal Studies Institute, Dr Al Buainain said the swift growth of digital tools has multiplied the forms of electronic fraud and the methods used to carry it out.

He said this crime is now striking in organised, cross-border patterns, using techniques that can hit investment confidence, state finances, and personal savings at the same time. He said the Public Prosecution is using the legal and procedural powers granted under national law to pursue offenders and protect both public funds and private property.

Duty

Public money, he said, carries a special sanctity and its protection is a duty on everyone, while private ownership is safeguarded and cannot be touched except by a right fixed in law.

That duty, he added, calls for firm action, close follow-up, and constant updates in investigative practice to keep pace with changing criminal methods.

Dr Al Buainain said a serious response to fraud requires a complete and well-crafted legal framework, backed by strong coordination across all bodies involved in enforcement and oversight.

The forum, he said, is part of that effort, bringing agencies together to study how fraud develops, review national performance using the tools currently available, and work out what further measures are needed to lift the effectiveness of enforcement and prevention.

He stressed that fighting fraud is not only about investigations after the fact.

Prevention

It must also involve prevention, through steady public awareness and early intervention.

He pointed to warning notices issued by the Ministry of Interior and prosecution statements that explain ongoing fraud cases and the court rulings that follow, saying these help people recognise scams before they fall into them.

He added that agencies must also have practical means to stop fraud at its early stages and prevent transfers or losses from going through.

Dr Khaled Seroor Siyam, President of the Judicial and Legal Studies Institute, praised the Public Prosecution’s work in studying fraud patterns locally and abroad, saying its role extends beyond case-building and trials to understanding the roots of the problem, tracking its causes, and reducing the chances of it happening in the first place.