A victim of cybercrime has come forward to seek justice after his Standard Chartered Bank account was hacked on February 21st, 2024.
Despite attempts to recover the lost funds and seek redress from the bank, the victim has encountered numerous challenges and inconsistencies in the handling of his case, prompting him to seek external assistance in resolving the matter.
The source explained the sequence of events as follows…
February 21st, 2024
• He receives multiple prompts from the Standard Chartered Bank application to approve unauthorized transactions, which he promptly declines.
• An email purportedly from the bank alerts him to suspicious activities in his account and provides a contact number.
• He calls the provided number and engages with someone who possesses detailed knowledge of his account, attempting to coerce sensitive information from him, such as his PIN.
• Sensing the fraudulent nature of the interaction, he declines to comply and contacts the bank directly to report the irregularities.
• Standard Chartered Bank confirms the fraudulent transactions and acknowledges the funds were transferred to a Cooperative Bank account.
• Partial recovery of approximately Kes. 290,000 is achieved but a substantial sum remains unrecovered.
• The victim proactively reports the matter to Embakasi Police Station under OB number 87/21/02/2024, initiating a formal investigation into the cybercrime.
February 22nd, 2024
• The victim visits the bank and is provided with his bank statement, revealing withdrawals totaling Kes. 693,000 to a Cooperative Bank account registered to Kevin Ngigi Kiarie.
• The bank commits to investigating the matter further and requests two working days to provide updates on the next steps.
February 26th, 2024
• He returns to the bank seeking an update on the investigation’s progress and meets with Branch Manager Alice Kinuthia.
• Alice Kinuthia informs the victim that the bank is still coordinating with Cooperative Bank to recover the remaining funds.
February 27th, 2024
• Alice Kinuthia informs the victim that the bank is in communication with Cooperative Bank and assures him of the imminent reimbursement of the recovered amount.
March 16th, 2024
• Standard Chartered Bank provides the victim with a summary of their discussions, acknowledging ongoing investigations and partial fund recovery.
• However, the victim expresses dissatisfaction with the bank’s response and escalates the matter by involving legal representation.
March 22nd, 2024
• The victim correspondences with Anastacia Mukeku of Standard Chartered Bank, expressing disappointment with the lack of transparency and responsiveness in handling his case.
• He indicates his intention to pursue legal recourse if necessary.
• She assured the victim of the bank’s commitment to resolving the matter and offered herself as a contact person for further updates.
March 27th, 2024
• Despite continued communication and reassurances from Standard Chartered Bank, the victim remains adamant in his demand for full reimbursement and indicates his intention to escalate the matter further if necessary.
• At this point, the victim’s case was forwarded to the banking fraud unit and the investigating officer concluded that the suspect was a repeat offender with another active case.
• Notably, the victim’s account was hacked within hours of receiving funds, which raises serious concerns about the security of Standard Chartered Bank’s systems.
• The investigating team from Standard Chartered Bank mentions the introduction of a Windows device to the victim’s account and the disabling of text notifications, actions allegedly carried out by the bank itself.
April 4th, 2024
• The victim forwarded a demand letter to Anastacia Mukeku and Evelyn, outlining the details of the hacking incident and asserting his rights to seek redress.
• Anastacia Mukeku responded to Edward’s communication, acknowledging the receipt of his demand letter.
• She advised him to direct further correspondence to the bank’s Legal office and provided contact details for Evelyn Gachanja, the Head of Legal at Standard Chartered Bank Kenya & East Africa.
• However, when the victim asked them questions about the matter, they directed him to the banking fraud department at the Central Bank, even though they were the ones who got hacked.
Why is Standard Chartered Bank taking the victim in circles and failing to provide satisfactory updates on the progress of the investigations into the hacking incident?
His demand for full reimbursement is justified, given the fraudulent nature of the transactions and the bank’s failure to adequately secure his account
We are closely monitoring this story and will provide our esteemed readers with subsequent updates in follow-up posts.
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