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S Africa: SIM card scamsters net thousands

WARNING: This is Version 1 of my old archive, so Photos will NOT work and many links will NOT work. But you can find articles by searching on the Titles. There is a lot of information in this archive. Use the SEARCH BAR at the top right. Prior to December 2012; I was a pro-Christian type of Conservative. I was unaware of the mass of Jewish lies in history, especially the lies regarding WW2 and Hitler. So in here you will find pro-Jewish and pro-Israel material. I was definitely WRONG about the Boeremag and Janusz Walus. They were for real.

Original Post Date: 2007-10-05 Time: 00:00:00  Posted By: Carla

Johannesburg – Scores of cellphone store employees have been arrested countrywide, after they apparently helped to steal clients’ cellphone numbers so that money could be stolen electronically from their bank accounts. Two Vodacom clients who contacted Fin24’s sister publication Beeld lost about R118 000 after unauthorised SIM card switches.The police confirmed the arrests of the cellphone employees.SIM card switches are done, for example, when a user’s cellphone is stolen, and the client needs a new SIM card to be able to keep the same number. The three cellphone networks said such a transaction could only be done with a green (coded) ID book.Police communication chief Phuti Setati, said unauthorised SIM-card switches were done for a crook to get hold of a unique code.Banks send these unique codes to the phones of legitimate clients for them to transfer money via the internet to their own or other accounts. All networks targeted”The account holder’s details are used to do the SIM card switch. It’s usually the employee in the shop where the SIM card exchange takes place, who does the switching,” Setati said.”All the cellphone networks are targeted, because the legitimate client can use any of the service providers.”Shenanda Janse van Rensburg, Cell C’s communication chief, said the company was not aware of any unauthorised SIM card switches.MTN communication manager Ntombi Mhangwani said MTN was aware of this fraudulent practice, but had not yet been affected by it.Dot Field, Vodacom communication chief, said Vodacom was aware of various incidents where unauthorised SIM card switches had taken place. Neither Vodacom nor the police could say how many of these incidents there had been. Fourteen dealsSwindlers stole about R100 000 from the business account of Kempton Park businessman Willie Nel.His partner, Mora Nel’s SIM card was switched illegally twice in two days. “Criminals did about 14 transactions of between R6 000 and R8 000 each in my account,” Nel said. Chris-Mari(233)é van Tonder, a Rawsonville, Western Cape estate agent could not phone or SMS from her cellphone. She thought there were network problems. “I phoned Vodacom. They said I’d done a SIM card switch the previous day in Johannesburg. I couldn’t have, because I live in the Cape,” she said.A few days later Van Tonder wanted to pay her accounts online. “To my horror, I saw that about R18 000 had been transferred to various ‘beneficiaries’.”Don’t disclose bank detailsCarl Louw, head of Absa’s internet channel, said Absa was aware of the fraudulent practice. “Criminals send a ‘credible’ e-mail to a client in which they request the person’s bank details on behalf of the bank, asking for the person’s bank details and password. “When you receive an e-mail like that, delete it and contact the bank, Louw said.”

Source: http://www.fin24.co.za/articles/default/display_article.aspx?Nav=ns&ArticleID=1518-1786_2196328