Pretoria - South Africa's Reserve Bank said on Tuesday it would push local banks to upgrade their cyber security after criminals used counterfeit Standard Bank cards to withdraw millions of dollars from ATMs across Japan.
The gang used the fake cards to withdraw 1.4 billion yen ($13 million) in 14 000 transactions from ATMs at 7-Eleven convenience stores over three hours on a Sunday morning, according to a source familiar with the matter.
On Monday, Standard Bank said it had lost R300 million in a card fraud incident in Japan, after the perpetrators used counterfeit cards to withdraw cash from automatic teller machines.
The bank said its South African operations suffered the losses, not its customers, and that the authorities had been alerted.
“Standard Bank has taken swift action to contain the matter and the gross loss to the bank is estimated at 300 million rand. This is prior to any potential recoveries that may serve to reduce the loss,” the bank said in a statement.
REUTERS