A Verification Code That Turned Into a Resignation

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

In a case that reveals how technology and language barriers can be exploited, five Bahrainis suddenly found themselves out of work after a simple verification code was used to submit their resignations without their knowledge.

The incident began after the contract of a security company that supplied workers to a building affiliated with the Ministry of Labour came to an end. A supervisor at the company asked the workers to come to the company’s office, telling them it was to arrange their transfer to a new workplace.

Inside the office, the workers were called in one by one. The supervisor told each of them that they would receive a text message related to the job transfer process and asked them to provide the verification code included in the message. Since the message was written in English and the workers did not understand the language, they simply gave him the code.

What they did not know was that the message was not about transferring them to another workplace. Instead, it was a message confirming an electronic resignation. By using the verification codes, the supervisor was able to electronically sign resignation letters in their names without their knowledge.

The workers only discovered the truth later, when they realized the company had officially recorded their resignations and ended their employment, leaving some of them without receiving their full entitlements. One worker became suspicious after translating the message, refused to provide the code, and reported the incident.

Following investigations, prosecutors charged the defendant with unlawfully using the victims’ electronic signatures, forging resignation documents, and submitting them to official authorities. The First High Criminal Court has set April 14 as the date to issue its verdict in the case.