Wednesday, October
30, 2024Â –Â A recent incident reported by a customer has put Absa Bank Kenya under scrutiny, with new allegations of insider fraud coming to light.
According to the customer, he received a call from what appeared
to be a random number claiming to represent Absa Bank Kenya, promoting a new
mobile money product.
The caller allegedly had access to sensitive information,
including the customer’s national ID, email address, and full name.
Suspicious of the unsolicited inquiry, the customer declined to
share additional banking details and ended the call.
“Hi Cyprian, today I have been conned by insiders at Absa
Bank. Kindly assist me in publishing this story to help others. A random number
called me about their new mobile money products, and they had all my details—my
ID, email, and full name. I refused to share my banking details and hung
up,” the source revealed.
Shortly after this first interaction, the customer reportedly
received a second call, this time from a number officially linked to the bank
itself.
This second caller urgently claimed that an attempt had been
made to withdraw funds from the customer’s account and that immediate action
was necessary to safeguard the money.
“Immediately afterward,” he recounted, “I
received a call from an official Absa Bank number, 0722 130120. The caller
claimed that an attempt had been made to withdraw money from my account and
that I needed to act fast to protect my funds.”
Placing trust in what appeared to be a legitimate warning from
the bank’s official line, the customer reluctantly provided their account
number, feeling assured that he was taking steps to protect his assets.
Believing he had acted prudently by following the bank’s urgent
instructions, the customer awaited confirmation that his account was secure but
what followed was anything but reassuring.
As he logged in to verify his balance, expecting to see all was
intact, he instead found a shocking reality: the account, which had held his
carefully managed funds, now showed a balance distressingly close to zero.
“Little did I know they were working together. They wiped
my account,” he lamented.
In disbelief, he retraced each step of the call and was left
grappling with endless questions.
How could a call from Absa Bank’s own line seamlessly enable a
fraudulent scheme?
Does this mean that the bank’s employees or systems are somehow
compromised far beyond his own experience?
What about the controls in place to protect sensitive customer data?
If someone could so easily access his ID number, email, and
other personal details, what protections were actually being implemented to
secure client information?
Is there even a system within the bank capable of distinguishing
between genuine bank communications and orchestrated fraud?
And if employees have direct access to client data, he wondered,
are there any real checks in place to ensure ethical handling of that data?
“I’ve shared my story on Facebook,” he added,
“but I don’t have many followers. I’m hoping it might help others be
cautious,” the source concluded.
This alarming incident has reignited fears around Absa Bank
Kenya and its troubling history with data leakages.
Via Cyprian Nyakundi.
The Kenyan DAILY POST.
