Standard Bank hit by R300m credit card fraud in Japan

Standard Bank has revealed that it was the victim of a “sophisticated, coordinated fraud incident” in Japan.

Criminals withdrew cash from various ATMs in Japan, using fraudulent credit cards based on leaked Standard Bank data, Yomiuri Shimbun reported. Although Standard Bank wasn’t identified by name in the initial report.

Standard Bank has issued a press statement to confirm the incident though, adding that there has been no financial loss for consumers.

However, the bank has suffered losses of its own.

“Standard Bank has taken swift action to contain the matter and the gross loss to the bank is estimated at R300-million. This is prior to any potential recoveries that may serve to reduce the loss,” said Standard Bank’s Ross Linstrom in an emailed statement.

“Investigations are at a sensitive stage and further information will be provided as appropriate.”

The Japanese daily reported that 1600 fraudulent credit cards were used in the scam, with 1400 ATMs targeted. It’s suspected that a group of over 100 people was behind the incident, conducting 14 000 fraudulent transactions in total.

Feature image: Ed Ivanushkin via Flickr