Vodacom customer loses R250,000 in SIM-swap fraud – Absa refuses to pay him back

The solution is simple if you bank with ABSA move to FNB or Capitec.

ABSA is in the stone age when it comes to security.
 
Put a limit on transfers per day, increase and decrease as u need? Saved my a$$ when i was ID defrauded on MTN
 
“It is important to note that clients also have a duty to protect their own security information (passwords and PINs) as well as IT equipment they use to access their account,” said Absa.

This IT equipment includes computers and mobile phones.
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Really passing the buck hey. I mean, what happened to his phone was completely and utterly out of his control.

What could he have done different to prevent this from happening?

I know all the usual answers - not keep R250k in his cheque account, not bank with ABSA, not have a cellphone, not use Vodacom. But that is not what I am asking here.

Was there anything he did WRONG that resulted in this happening? No, there wasn't. He had the reasonable expectation that ABSA would look after his money. He had the reasonable expectation that Vodacom would not allow sim swap fraud. Both expectations were unfortunately unmet - but that isn't his fault.

Interestingly, considering this guy obviously has a fair bit of cash, I wonder why he doesn't initiate legal proceedings against ABSA or Vodacom? It could be argued that Vodacom is solely responsible for his loss. If they were not negligent in their SIM swap process, this would have been impossible.
 
For that reason I moved from ABSA to FNB! I told the person from ABSA that and she said I have no leg to stand on!

I hope staff from ABSA in Bellvile branch in Voortrekker Road also see this!
 
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The average Joe will be unable to fully protect any IT equipment he might use to log on to his internet banking from hackers and the like. The best that most people will be able to do is get an Anti-virus and a simple firewall but that won't help you much if someone with the skill and know how decides to hack your stuff.

This is complete and utter BS from ABSA.
 
How can the bank not trace the money? Surely they can trace where that money has been transferred to? Surely they had to have created new beneficiaries on his account. Crimes like these happen in South Africa because the banks, the cellphone companies and the police are apathetic towards it.
 
boerseun said:
How can the bank not trace the money? Surely they can trace where that money has been transferred to? Surely they had to have created new beneficiaries on his account. Crimes like these happen in South Africa because the banks, the cellphone companies and the police are apathetic towards it.
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I could never understand that. The moment is leaves an account via electronic means, they seem to be clueless as to where it goes. How is this possible?
 
“It also requires other institutions to have similarly secure systems. These institutions include mobile phone companies where criminals sometimes swap the SIM cards of clients without their knowledge,” said Absa.

so pray tell how am i to safegaurd against a sim swapp?
i doubt the story told here is the whole story on all three sides
 
boerseun said:
How can the bank not trace the money? Surely they can trace where that money has been transferred to? Surely they had to have created new beneficiaries on his account. Crimes like these happen in South Africa because the banks, the cellphone companies and the police are apathetic towards it.
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They will be able to, each transaction has a unique ID, but I think these account are probable made with fake IDs etc. So tracing it is useless and if the money is withdrawn it's gone for good.
 
Quite shocking that this is a known problem - well documented - and the ombudsman rules against the client who's done nothing wrong.

I can imagine the horrendous service he would have gotten from ABSA.
 
Ockie said:
Again with this BS. Protest outside ABSA. They hold your money and refuse to switch away from the vulnerable SMS authentication.
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Vodacom was negligent aswell..

MTN updates SIM swap process

By Paula Gilbert, ITWeb telecoms editor.
Johannesburg, 31 Mar 2016

MTN South Africa will only process SIM swap requests during working hours in an attempt to tighten security measures and avoid SIM swap fraud.
Since 2013, MTN has been using an SMS verification process where it sends an SMS to the requesting number to verify the authenticity of a SIM swap request. Now MTN SA says it has "put a halt to activation of SIM swaps processing between 20H00 and 07H00".

"By restricting the activation of SIM swaps during working hours, MTN has ensured customers are given an opportunity to detect and approve SIM swap requests," the telecoms operator told ITWeb.
Next month, MTN plans to also embark on a campaign where it will encourage its customers to provide a secondary number or e-mail address for SIM swap verification purposes.


The tightening of security comes after the very public case of Cape Town audiologist Gail Jacklin, who reportedly had over R300 000 stolen from her First National Bank (FNB) accounts after a fraudulent SIM swap on her MTN account.


http://www.itweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=151096
 
Ockie said:
Again with this BS. Protest outside ABSA. They hold your money and refuse to switch away from the vulnerable SMS authentication.
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ockie, you are wrong this time. this would have never happened if Vodacom didn't allow the sim swap.

you want to know how easy it is to do a sim swap? tybergvally, vodashop (the franchise, not the company shop) doesn't ask for ID or proff address when doing a sim swap. how do I know? the wife did one a month ago.

needed to do a sim swap, Vodacom gateway asked for proof of residence, which the wife didn't have at the time. they told her to go to a franchise shop to have it done as they rarely ask for ID or proof.

so the real problem is the franchises not being forced to follow company policy.
 
Slootvreter said:
No man. How is Vodacom not part of this?
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Not saying they are not part of it, but as I have said before, this problem can be fixed completely if ABSA took their heads out of the sand and moved over to similar systems as Capitec. At the end of the day, ABSA holds you money and they are the ones that is refusing to switch to a more tamper proof security system. My heart bleeds custard. This is a well documented and much talked about issue on mybb and have been reported thoroughly in the news etc. If you want your money to be safe, then move to a bank that takes your security seriously. Finished and klaar.
 
crackersa said:
ockie, you are wrong this time. this would have never happened if Vodacom didn't allow the sim swap.

you want to know how easy it is to do a sim swap? tybergvally, vodashop (the franchise, not the company shop) doesn't ask for ID or proff address when doing a sim swap. how do I know? the wife did one a month ago.

needed to do a sim swap, Vodacom gateway asked for proof of residence, which the wife didn't have at the time. they told her to go to a franchise shop to have it done as they rarely ask for ID or proof.

so the real problem is the franchises not being forced to follow company policy.
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As I responded to Sloot.....I am not saying Vodacom is a little angel with no blame. Vodacom at least have put measures in place. Shop level, two people have to authorise a sim swop on the system. A single person cant do it. After a certain time at night, our sim swop functionality gets disabled on the system. What has ABSA done to secure your money that sits with them, not Vodacom? They have done absolutely fck all.
 
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