Hawks arrest alleged SIM swap fraudsters who ‘skimmed' millions’

The Hawks made a breakthrough in a high-stakes fraud case when they caught six people for allegedly fraudulently doing SIM swaps to facilitate transactions amounting to more than R18m.

The six were arrested on Monday on multiple charges of fraud registered in Johannesburg in 2022.

In October 2021, Standard Bank was alerted of suspicious transactions processed on six business accounts linked to entities affiliated with Mukuru Group.

Investigations revealed the suspects had allegedly executed a fraudulent Business Online Legacy profile takeover. They allegedly fraudulently did SIM swaps with the users’ mobile service providers and facilitated unauthorised transactions amounting to R18,123,496, said Hawks spokesperson Capt Lloyd Ramovha.

“The prolific organised fraud involved a series of strategic moves to bypass security measures and exploit vulnerabilities within the banking system. These fraudulent activities caused significant financial losses and posed a severe threat to the integrity of the digital banking operations,” Ramovha said.

The six  — Dikeledi Mosia, Jeana Mokoena, Daphne Dieketseng Modise, Tsietsi Shadrack Msimanga, Mongezi Dennis Malindi, and Reuben Allister Beeby, made their first appearance at the Palm Ridge magistrate’s court on Wednesday, where the matter was postponed to next Tuesday pending further investigations.

More arrests were expected, said Ramovha.

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