Standard Bank Denies Security Breach Allegations

Standard Bank security breach denial: Standard Bank has firmly denied allegations of a security breach on its system, despite a surge of complaints from customers on social media platforms about fraudulent transactions and missing funds from their accounts.

The bank’s Chief Risk Officer, Thabani Ndwandwe, has reiterated that there has been no breach of its system.

The denial comes after a torrent of complaints by some of Standard Bank’s customers on social media on Tuesday.

Users reported “dodgy” transactions on their accounts and voiced frustration at their inability to access the banking app or get through to the bank’s call center to report the fraud due to high call volumes.

One X user, @ayandamthethwa_, posted a warning to anyone banking with Standard Bank, urging them to check their accounts, as there was a “massive security breach” with the bank, despite them “going about their day as if NOTHING happened.”

Standard Bank Denies Security Breach Allegations

The user claimed that several fraudulent transactions were attempted on their account, with 3k gone without explanation.

Even three-time Comrades Marathon champion Gerda Steyn took to X to express her frustration, stating, “Trying to report fraud @StandardBankZA but nobody picking up the phone… been on hold for over an hour already!!”

In a statement at lunchtime on Tuesday, Standard Bank acknowledged having issues with its call centre, but insisted that its systems had not been breached.

The bank advised customers to make use of their banking app or internet banking to manage their cards or report fraud.

Spike in Month-End Transactions Blamed for Call Centre Issues

Standard Bank has attributed the delayed responses from its call center to a spike in month-end transactions.

The bank has stated that it has multiple security and authentication layers in place to protect its customers.

Standard Bank Security Breach Denial: Brazil Not Solely to Blame for Fraud Complaints

While Standard Bank has not provided a clear explanation for the surge in fraud complaints, the bank has stated that Brazil was not the sole source of the attempted fraud attempts.

The bank has pledged to revert with further details on the matter.

Standard Bank has suffered a series of system outages in recent years, with 2022 particularly badly affected.

This eventually resulted in the group’s Chief Engineering Officer, Alpheus Mangale, who was responsible for the stability of its IT systems, stepping down with immediate effect in June 2022.

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