41,000 Nedbank clients’ cellphone numbers retrieved in cyberattack

 At least 41,000 Nedbank clients have been targeted in a cyberattack. 

Nedbank’s head of corporate communications, Annaleigh Vallie, confirmed to TimesLIVE on Friday that about 41,000 cellphone numbers were retrieved by hackers.

The bank confirmed it experienced a cyberattack between March 15-18 in which attackers attempted to create fraudulent profiles (Nedbank IDs) on the Nedbank MoneyApp using valid SA identity numbers.

“These identity numbers were already in the possession of the attackers and obtained from external sources.

“No Nedbank systems or client accounts have been compromised as a result of this incident. The attackers, however, managed to retrieve about 41,000 Nedbank client cellphone numbers linked to the ID numbers through the attack.”

“Once we became aware of the incident, the enrolment functionality on the Nedbank MoneyApp channel was immediately disabled, as a preventive measure.”

The bank said additional controls have been implemented and the functionality has been restored.

Its clients do not need to take any further action other than continuing to be vigilant against attempts at fraud, said Nedbank.

“Personal information such as phone numbers and ID numbers can create opportunities for criminals to impersonate you but does not enable any access to your banking profile or accounts. Criminals can, however, use this information to trick you into disclosing your confidential banking details.”

Any suspicious activity can be reported to Nedbank on 0800 110 929.

TimesLIVE