Outrage as funds disappear from FNBB accounts

Pauline Dikuelo | Monday January 8, 2018 16:21

 

Over the festive season, numerous account holders took to social media in outrage, reporting that funds had been withdrawn from their accounts without consent.

Others reported that unsuccessful attempts had been made to cash funds illegally from their accounts, as reported via cellphone banking.

The situation was worsened by a message circulating on social media claiming card skimmers had been installed on FNBB ATMs at the Main Mall, Riverwalk, Kgale View and Rail Park. 

Richard Harriman, who runs a consumer rights organisation called Consumer Watchdog, noted that the magnetic strips on some ATM cards were prone to card skimming devices. 

“The chip and pin is great; the problem is that banks still insist on putting the magnetic strips on the cards. That’s the weak spot that car-skimmers exploit,” he wrote on the organisation's popular Facebook group.  

One affected customer wrote on social media: 'The last ATM I used was at Rail Park. I was in a queue and when it was my turn the ATM displayed a message that it was being serviced. 

'It took less than a minute and the ATM was functioning again.  There was an audible noise like it was repaired from behind, but after two days all my money disappeared from the account of the ATM card I was using. My other FNB account is not affected. Is this a coincidence?' 

In a statement this afternoon, FNB said 359 out of its 525,000 accounts had been affected by 'suspicious transactions' in the first week of January. 

The bank said all affected clients would be assisted. 

'All affected customers will be contacted and where transactions are confirmed to be fraudulent, the customers’ bank cards will be blocked and new ones issued,' FNBB stated. 

'The bank will further refund affected customers, and waive the card replacement fees.' 

FNBB urged clients to ignore messages circulating on social media warning about certain ATMs. 

'The bank would like to assure the public that the ATMs are secure and may be used, with the usual security protocols of keeping PIN private and confirming that any ATM used has not been tampered with,' read the statement.