By Newsdesk
EcoCash has denied reports that that criminals have hacked it and WhatsApp accounts, using stolen identities of persons trusted by others in a WhatsApp group.
Reports said over the past two months, police have received several complaints totalling the equivalent of US$100 million.
“EcoCash is aware of reports of fraud, where unsuspecting EcoCash customers have lost money to criminals using false identities after they harvest customers’ mobile phone numbers from social media platforms like WhatsApp,” said the statement.
EcoCash wishes to assure the public and our valued customers that the EcoCash system has NOT been hacked and remains safe and secure.
EcoCash urges customers to be vigilant against fraud by checking the identity of people they send money to and by not sharing their EcoCash PIN with anyone.
EcoCash further urges customers to report all suspected cases of fraud to the police, or to Ecocash through our SMS helpline 0771 222 114 or to EcoCash’s nearest channel partners.
Thank you for your continued support
Live Life the EcoCash Way
EcoCash
Cassava Smartech
The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) want all to come together to figure out a way of countering the fraud.
“So far, complainants across the country have lost around US$100 million and investigations are in progress. We have to do something to deal with the technical fraud once and for all,” police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said.
Information said the criminals that hacked number in the WhatsApp groups the hacked person belongs to, offering US dollars at lucrative rates.
Others in the group, assuming the person making the offer is their trusted friend, respond and offer to buy the currency.
They transfer money by EcoCash to their friend’s number, but the fraudsters now controlling that number clean out the EcoCash account and vanish.
When the WhatsApp group members confront their friend, it becomes clear that the group member would be unaware of the transactions and there will be no network on their mobile phone.
