Standard soothes ‘hacker’ fears
It said recent reports had pointed to an alleged new type of internet banking fraud in the local banking industry. But it said at this stage of the investigation it could "conclude that there is no evidence to suggest that a syndicate or new scam is currently active in South Africa".
"Standard Bank would like to stress that these are isolated incidents and confined to a handful of individuals," it said in a statement.
It confirmed that several customers had reported suspicious prepaid transfers on their accounts whereby funds were transferred to a pre-paid cellphone account.
However, a Standard Bank internet security team had physically examined several customers’ computer and found no malicious software, it said, adding that investigations were ongoing.
Don’t share personal credentials
Herman Singh, Director Architecture and Technology Engineering, said there is no evidence of an organised syndicate being involved in these incidents.
"At this stage of our investigations it would seem that the customer’s personal credentials have been compromised to somebody that they may know. Customers should be vigilant, and not share their personal credentials with anybody, be this wittingly or unwittingly."
In most instances affected customers had not adopted Standard Bank recommended security measures. These security measures were designed to enhance customer security and prevent unauthorised access, Singh added.
As a precautionary measure, Standard Bank has lowered the limits for prepaid transactions over the internet. Additional security will be added to the facility in the next few days.
"Standard Bank investigates all reported claims as part of its focus on customer security. Internet banking is one of the safest and most convenient channels through which to transact.
Security service
"Standard Bank Internet Banking handles more than 20 million transactions per month with an annual value of over R2 trillion," Standard Bank said.
It urged customers to adopt One Time Password as a means to protect themselves against unauthorised access of their accounts by third parties.
The One Time Password facility (OTP) was introduced by the bank last year and is a two factor authentication methodology, whereby the delivery of a second password occurs independently of the internet banking session a client uses.
Over 200 000 customers out of 500 000 internet banking customers have already adopted the security service.
The second password is system generated and delivered to the client’s cell phone via SMS or e-mail address.
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