Kshs 179,677,736: Outrage as card scammers and hackers swipe Sh179 million from Equity bank through debit cards in Kenya

Information reaching Kossyderrickent has it that Outrage as card scammers and hackers swipe Sh179 million from Equity bank through debit cards in Kenya.

Hackers Stole Ksh 179 Million From Equity Bank Accounts In Massive Card Fraud Scandal

We got our hands on some interesting scoop — a letter leaked to us by a source inside Equity Bank. 

This letter was addressed to the Director of the Banking Fraud Investigations Department at the DCI.

So, what’s the big deal? 

Well, it turns out that Equity Bank is also caught up in a hacking mess just like Standard Chartered Bank.

The letter states: ‘Early on April 15, 2024, the bank’s risk department discovered an upsurge of transactions emanating from the bank’s incoming MasterCard GL. Preliminary investigations revealed that between April 9th and April 15th, Ksh. 179,677,736 was paid out from the GL fraudulently to the 551 Equity Bank accounts.’

Some Ksh. 63 million went to Safaricom Mpesa and Ksh. 39 million to eleven other banks. 

Equity Bank is now scrambling to track down where the money went and freeze it to keep it safe. 

They claim to have locked down over Ksh. 60 million in those 551 accounts and are urgently asking the Banking Fraud Investigations Department to catch the perpetrators.