Advance-Fee Scams in Bahrain
Advance-fee fraud in Bahrain targets residents with fabricated inheritance and contract stories, exploiting the country's financial hub status to add credibility.
Part of: Advance Fee Scams
Last reviewed: 1 June 2026
Advance-fee scams reach Bahrain's diverse population through email, SMS, and WhatsApp in multiple languages. Fraudsters exploit the country's reputation as a financial centre by impersonating CBB officials, Islamic bank officers, or international law firms with Manama addresses, claiming to administer large unclaimed estates or uncollected business payments.
Bahrain's high-income expat community is specifically targeted because large cross-border financial transactions are relatively normalised, making a story about an overseas fund transfer seem plausible.
How this scam works on Bahrain
A victim receives an email or WhatsApp message from someone claiming to be a Bahraini notary or international lawyer. They explain that a foreign national died intestate in Bahrain leaving a large deposit at a named bank, and that the victim — identified as the closest traceable relative — is entitled to inherit, provided small administrative fees are settled first.
Documents reference real Bahraini institutions but contain subtle errors. Each fee payment triggers a new requirement: an Islamic finance compliance fee, a cross-border transaction tax, or a CBB clearance charge. After several rounds, all contact ceases.
Some scammers impersonate Bahraini 'wasta' intermediaries — people who claim to facilitate contacts with powerful officials — to charge fees for introductions or approvals that never materialise.
Common red flags
- Unsolicited contact about an inheritance, contract award, or unclaimed fund in Bahrain
- Requests for fees before any money is released
- Documents contain the logos of real Bahraini institutions but have formatting inconsistencies
- Each fee payment is followed by a new, unexpected charge
- Communication comes via personal WhatsApp rather than official institutional channels
- Secrecy demanded — 'do not involve your bank or lawyer'
How to protect yourself
- No legitimate inheritance or contract payment requires the beneficiary to pay fees upfront
- Verify any claimed CBB or bank involvement by calling the institution's official number
- Consult an independent lawyer before paying anything
- Report to the CBB and Bahrain Police Cybercrime Unit before engaging further
- Search the correspondent's name and email with 'scam' in a search engine
How to report it
- Report to the Bahrain Police Cybercrime Unit (Ministry of Interior)
- Submit a complaint to the Central Bank of Bahrain if a bank is impersonated
- Report via the government's official complaints portal at bahrain.bh
Frequently asked questions
The message mentions a specific Bahraini bank by name — does that make it more credible?
No. Scammers routinely use real institution names. Call the bank directly on the number listed on its official website to verify whether any claim in your name actually exists.