Bulawayo man loses $42k through card cloning

By Staff reporter | 17 Oct 2019 at 18:16hrs
Phishing
A MAN from Bulawayo lost ZW$42 000 when his bank account was wiped clean in a case of suspected card cloning.

Cloning refers to criminal duplication of one's Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards which criminals use to steal cash from their victims' bank accounts.

National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi yesterday confirmed the incident which occurred between September 21 and October 9.

He did not release the identity of the victim.

"The case involves someone who was expecting about $34 000 in his bank account from his colleague. When the money did not reflect on his mobile phone, he engaged his friend who confirmed that he had sent the money. So, on the 10th of October the complainant went to the bank and was given a statement proving that between 21 September and 9 October somebody had cloned his card and $42 910 was withdrawn on different occasions. Investigations on the matter are in progress," said Asst Comm Nyathi.

He urged members of the public to safeguard their ATM cards and avoid giving the pin codes to anyone. Asst Comm Nyathi said members of the public should have personal contacts with banks instead of dealing with third parties.

"There is a need for personal contact between account holders and financial institutions. The issue of communicating through third parties I think is causing problems. There is a need for account holders to visit their banks physically so that some of these transactions can be done over the counter," he said.

Some banks have started issuing warnings to their clients urging them against responding to messages from third parties.

"CABS will never ask you to confirm any personal banking information, personal identification number (PIN) or One True Pairing (OTP) over the phone. Do not honour such requests," reads a message the bank sent to its clients. CABS further urged its clients to contact the bank if they receive such communications.

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