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Student hacks Stanbic bank

by Court reporter
07 Oct 2014 at 06:52hrs | Views
A 22-year Midlands State University student and his accomplice were yesterday hauled before a Gweru court facing fraud charges after they allegedly hacked into emails of Stanbic clients in a bid to defraud the bank of nearly $200 000.

According to Court reports Panashe Carlos Tengende (22) and Mugove Chimino (34) allegedly hacked into the e-mails of four Stanbic Bank account holders before sending e-mails to bank officials authorising them to transfer money from "their" accounts into the one they had created.

It is alleged the two, who are directors of a company called Black Platter Investments, intended to defraud the bank of $175 917.

The State alleges that after hacking into individual and company emails, the pair instructed the bank to transfer various amounts of money into their company's bank account.

The court heard that the transfer instructions were allegedly given in the form of emails purportedly from the owners of the targeted accounts.

The duo also reportedly hacked into the e-mail of the High Commission of Pakistan and instructed the bank to transfer $100 000 from "their" account into Black Platter's account.

The offence was unearthed when an alert bank official Nongcebo Ngwenya received a transfer instruction of $10 567 purportedly from Charles Kunjani, one of the clients whose email was hacked, with the amount in figures different from that in words.

She then contacted Kunjani enquiring on the correct amount to transfer and he denied having emailed any transfer instructions.

The Stanbic Bank financial crime control manager received three more transfer instructions into Black Platter account, prompting him to contact the account holders who denied having instructed on any money transfers.

A report to the police was made and investigations led to the arrest of the pair.

Source - The Herald
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