This week, I became a part of the Experian + Capitec fraud. On the 26th of December, I got a notification from Capitec regarding a pending notification. There was a cellphone number linked to that payment registered on Truecaller as Zama Zama Inn. When one views the comments, over 2,000 South Africans seemed to have experienced the same instance of money leaving their accounts without their approval, knowledge, or consent.

And then another 350, 42, and 57 ZAR left my account as I was on the phone with the agent stopping my card. There is now a "case" open for investigation with an "escalation." That's all the info I have. I have followed up with Capitec via their WhatsApp chat, and what a joke that was. The person speaking to me there asked me constantly, "What do you mean fraudulent activity?" and "What do you mean location the transaction happened?"
This was after I specifically asked for reports stating where these transactions were authorized from. I've been at my family home, not swiping or doing anything online, so surely they must have the MAC address if it was online purchases and a pinpointed location. But they were unable to provide support and answers to any of the questions.
I'm very disappointed in Capitec for not stopping the pending transactions as they were happening while I was on the phone with an agent. For them to say, "We cannot stop a pending transaction," is unacceptable. I'm on the phone—the actual account owner—with you, my bank, the people supposedly keeping my money safe, and I'm not getting support.
If CEO Gerrie Fourie had experienced digital transformation officers like myself—qualified and proactive to manage crisis control—I would have implemented a system where, as a bank, I have technical security officers on standby for instances like this, in order to stop pending payments and reverse funds. The banks have that power, not the current support agents.
My friend in Cape Town, who just worked as a junior clerk, got a position as a support agent at Capitec. He has no financial experience (sorry for stating this, but he told me), and he is in a position to help people like me.
Gerrie Fourie, you should be implementing systems and processes to help Capitec clients safeguard their money. Access via a WhatsApp chat and even a call with inexperienced agents does not instill trust. I'm moving my main source of income to another place.