Alleged bank account hacker expected back in court

File picture: SAPS Twitter

File picture: SAPS Twitter

Published Feb 9, 2022

Share

Cape Town - An Eastern Cape man alleged to have hacked an Absa bank client's account is expected back in court on Wednesday.

Kholiwe Moses Janda, 52, is expected back in the Gqeberha New Law Court.

He made his first appearance on Monday after he was arrested by the Gqeberha-based Serious Commercial Cr­ime Investigation te­am of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks).

Janda is expected to bring legal representation on the record before the court.

According to the Hawks’ provincial spokesperson, Captain Yolisa Mgolodela, Janda faces charges of fraud and money laundering.

She said it is alleged that on February 16, 2018, an Absa bank client reported that he received a suspicious email (phishing mail) to the bank.

The bank informed the client that all was well with regards to his account, and no suspicious activity was detected.

“On the same day, the client received a​ short message service (SMS) informing him that a beneficiary account was added to his account.

“He further received an SMS informing him ‘K factory’ had been added as a beneficiary on his account and another SMS from Absa Fraud Departme­nt that they detected suspicious activit­ies on his account.

“He was later contact­ed​ by the fraud dep­artment​ and informed that fraud was dis­covered on his accou­nt, money was transf­erred to added new beneficiaries.

“Two fraudulent transacti­ons were successfully made, adding up to more than R199​ 000,” Mgolodela said.

She said in March 2018, the matter was reported to the Hawks for investigation, and this culminated in Janda’s arrest on Friday, February 4, 2022.

Janda was traced to Klerksdorp prison, where he is currently serving a 15-year prison sentence from September 2021 for a separate matter.

[email protected]

IOL