Share

Another Fin24 user's tale of SIM-swap fraud

Fin24 user Kevin has come forward with his story of SIM-swap fraud, following reports about a scam that hit a Cape Town audiologist Gail Jacklin.

Earlier this month, private consulting forensic scientist, Dr David Klatzow, said his client, Gail Jacklin, lost over R200 000 from the scam. Jacklin’s phone went on the “blink” only to be followed by her accounts being pilfered.

READ: Thousands of rands lost in 'FNB, MTN scam'

Klatzow claimed an inside job at FNB and MTN had sparked the scam. However, these two companies have instead blamed external phishing fraud for the incident.

In the meantime, Jacklin told Fin24 on Friday that the situation has left her “emotionally drained” and that she’s lost trust in FNB and MTN.

READ: SIM-swap victim feels betrayed by FNB, MTN

READ: Dozens of cellphone users hit by SIM-swap scam

But Fin24 user Kevin’s story has shone more light on how this crime is carried out:

Good morning

I bank with FNB and have cell phone accounts with MTN.

In January 2016 I received an SMS informing me that my “upgrade” was successful.

The next day I went into an MTN branch to enquire about this and after closer scrutiny MTN informed me that an Apple iPhone 6S had been upgraded on one of my accounts.

I live in Cape Town and the contract was taken out in Jhb.

I went through the process of getting affidavits done to get the contract reversed and although I do not see it on my statements and as such presume the contract has been reversed, I have not heard anything back from MTN’s “fraud department”.

The fraud department is virtually impossible to get hold of, to the extent that whenever you phone MTN’s 808 number and request to get through to their fraud department the operators give you various numbers most of which result in the call being terminated.

About a day later I received an email late at night advising me of two unsuccessful attempts to access my FNB online banking platform.

The next day I went into an FNB Branch to report the matter and change my online passwords.

A few days after this incident I noticed that my cell phone was not working and showed “no service”.

After trying to get to the bottom of this via MTN’s 808 number for an hour or so - without any success - I eventually drove down to my nearest MTN branch to try and resolve.

After a bit of a wait in the queue the MTN teller then took down my details and looked up the matter - only to inform me that my SIM card had been swapped.

She took a further hour or so to record details and then informed me that someone from the fraud department would handle the matter.

I did not accept this and asked to speak to the branch manager who within minutes of looking at the facts admonished her staff member for not addressing the matter with her immediately.

The branch manager also thankfully recommended that I immediately suspend all my internet and cellphone banking as she advised that whoever had done the SIM swap would now be able to access my one-time pin numbers.

The next day I went into the FNB Branch to again change my online and cellphone banking passwords.

Fortunately I seem to have avoided being scammed of any moneys however it does point to another case linking FNB and MTN to some sort of an internal scam going on.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.97
-0.3%
Rand - Pound
23.99
-0.4%
Rand - Euro
20.51
-0.2%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.36
-0.0%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.4%
Platinum
906.75
+1.1%
Palladium
1,015.63
+1.4%
Gold
2,209.38
+0.7%
Silver
24.63
-0.1%
Brent Crude
86.09
-0.2%
Top 40
68,240
+0.8%
All Share
74,437
+0.7%
Resource 10
57,023
+2.5%
Industrial 25
103,861
+0.6%
Financial 15
16,492
-0.2%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders