Flood of fraudulent transaction complaints from Standard Bank accounts

[Nat Quinn]

Flood of fraudulent transaction complaints from Standard Bank accounts

Standard Bank has been flooded with clients complaining about fraudulent transactions and money stolen from their accounts.

On Tuesday, reports emerged of problems at Standard Bank, with numerous clients complaining about account problems.

They added that the fraud helpline was overloaded and that they were waiting for extended periods to get assistance.

Initial reports suggested Standard Bank suffered a security breach, enabling cybercriminals to attack accounts.

However, the bank denied that its system had been breached by criminals. It blamed a spike in month-end transactions for the delay in responding to customers.

“Standard Bank would like to apologise to customers for delayed responses when calling the call centre,” the bank said.

It added that it has multiple security and authentication layers available to its customers to secure their services.

In addition to the call centre, customers can use the bank’s app or internet banking to report fraud or manage their cards or card payments.

Complaints about fraudulent transactions on Standard Bank accounts continued to flood in throughout Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.

It has reached such significant levels that the term “Standard Bank” trended on the social media platform X.

“I woke up to a fraudulent transaction on my cheque account. When trying to call the fraud department, no one answered,” one client said.

“I just keep hearing they are experiencing high call volumes, so clearly, I am not alone,” he added.

Another client said he experienced fraudulent international transactions on his debit card, which has not been activated yet.

Yet another client said his entire account was cleaned out last night. “I haven’t received an answer to any of my calls. You ask me to DM, and then you do nothing,” he said.

“There were another four fraudulent transactions on my Standard Bank cheque account overnight. What are you doing about this disaster?” one client asked.

“My account has been cleaned out. How do I pay my expenses when my account has been depleted?”

Standard Bank’s support staff responded to these complaints, saying their team is working around the clock to resolve the problems.

Although there are no immediate details on what is behind the spike in complaints, many clients reported transactions from Brazil.

“Please be assured that our team is working tirelessly to mitigate the occurrence of fraud on our clients’ accounts,” Standard Bank said.

“In the meanwhile, we ask that you please stop your card on the app and send an email to our fraud team at Reportfraud@standardbank.co.za for urgent assistance.”

Standard Bank’s advice to clients

Standard Bank provided some tips and best practices for clients concerned about fraud and security breaches.

• Password best practices

  • Use strong passwords for all your online accounts.

  • Consider using a password manager to securely store and manage your passwords.

• Multi-factor authentication (MFA) and biometrics

  • Enable MFA wherever possible to add an extra layer of security.

  • Biometric authentication – such as fingerprint or facial recognition – enhances account protection.

• Combat social engineering

  • Be cautious of unsolicited calls, emails, or messages asking for personal information

  • Verify the legitimacy of requests before sharing sensitive data

• Contactless payment methods

  • Use contactless cards or mobile wallets for secure transactions

• Precautions with public wi-fi

  • Avoid conducting sensitive transactions over public Wi-Fi networks.

Standard Bank also referred clients to its Security Centre for more details and tips on preventing fraud.

SOURCE:Flood of fraudulent transaction complaints from Standard Bank accounts – Daily Investor

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