Victim of Cellphone Banking *****?

Victim of Cellphone Banking *****?

If anyone has experienced something similar to what happened to my fiancé, Cara, please contact me privately. Cara and I are in the process of taking my matter further and would like similar victims to share their experiences with me. Here is a summary of the incident: Cara’s cellphone was ****** on the 9th of August 2020. Within half an hour she had the sim blocked and the phone blacklisted. We have a voice recording where the consultant at Vodacom assures Cara that the phone is not accessible. Unfortunately, the consultant only did a “soft lock” on the sim, meaning that SMS and calls could still be received. At no time was Cara informed that this was what had done, or that this is standard procedure for Vodacom.

The result of this is that ********** were able to bypass the security on the phone as well as the banking app, access the Standard Bank App on my phone, and transfer over R200,000 out of my account. All this without one alert, email, or phone call from Standard Bank ***** Department. They were able to do this because the sim card could still receive OTPs – hence the bank claim this was not unusual as it seemed like Cara was processing the transactions… 5 transactions in a short time of high amounts, all to non-beneficiaries cellphone numbers. Not suspicious at all!!! Cara receives regular calls from their ***** Department for legitimate transactions, ranging from as little as R180, checking that it is her, but when large sums are removed from my account in an irregular way (via cellphone banking) she received not one alert.

Standard Bank refuses to take any responsibility for their app being breached, or their ***** Department being inept, and subsequently have rejected her claim to be refunded the money. On top of that, she is expected to pay back the interest incurred (they cleaned out her credit card and access bond; not to mention her cheque account and overdraft facility).

Cara lodged this case with the Banking Ombudsman, but they have sided with Standard Bank, despite “evidence” supp**** to them by Standard Bank being inaccurate. No-one from the bank is willing to sit with her and validate the evidence they have given the Ombudsman, claiming they are not obliged to, and she must just take their word for it. she has gone as far as to request a meeting with the Standard Bank CEO and just been fobbed off.

As a matter of interest, last year roughly 18% of cases taken to the Ombudsman were found in favour of the complainant. All this also makes me question the impartiality of the Ombudsman, who receives their income directly from the bank. Cara has been treated badly by both Standard Bank and Vodacom, becoming a victim of corporate dominance and bullying. She has been pushed from pillar to post and not been given the opportunity to sit across the table from a vital decision-maker in either company to hear her case and offer their “proof” and explanation as to why her claim is being rejected. Neither company is willing to take responsibility for any part in this, and they are both, in my opinion, far from blame-free.

I know Cara has a very strong case and I would like to invite anyone with a similar story to share it with us and help us take on these corporate bullies.

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