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his card and $42 910 was withdrawn on different occasions.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. Chronicle
0 comments:
Post a Comment