2 Bulgarians Busted in Tanzania for ATM Fraud

[MaxShimba]

2 Bulgarians Busted in Tanzania for ATM Fraud
2009-07-21 19:21:03
Two Bulgarian nationals were detained in the biggest city of Tanzania, Dar es Salaam, for ATM fraud, the internet site allafrica.com reports.
Local police say the two perpetrators stole over USD 53 000 in illegal ATM transactions.

Dar es Salaam Special Police Zone Commander Suleiman Kova announced the Bulgarians were arrested Saturday in a sting operation by his officers, after mounting complaints by bank account holders that they were losing their savings in unauthorised ATM withdrawals.

"The suspects fell for our trap and were arrested while scouring an ATM in the city, where we had stationed a detective posing as a cleaner. On inspection, they were found with a special device that they had used to discreetly record people's Personal Identification Numbers (PIN)," Kova said, adding the operation was a major breakthrough in the fight against criminals targeting countries like Tanzania, which have inferior technological expertise.

The two are to stand trial at a local court upon completion of the investigation.

The arrest comes at time when international organisations and diplomatic missions have been circulating reports to staff and visitors, warning them against using ATM cards while in Tanzania, the allafrica site reports.

 

[MaxShimba]

Tanzania: Banks Calm ATM Clients As CEOs Applaud Arrest

Commercial banks moved yesterday to assure customers that their savings would be safe despite reported cases of illegal cash withdrawals by criminals using the Automated Teller Machines (ATMs).


A day after police announced the arrest of two Bulgarian nationals accused of spying on unsuspecting ATM card holders and allegedly siphoning out Sh70 million, banking sources said there was no course for alarm as measures were being undertaken to check the spread of cyber crime.


Meanwhile representatives of the private sector hailed the police sting operation that led to the arrest of the international crime suspects and urged for public vigilance to supplement the police efforts.

The Chairman of the CEO Roundtable Mr Ali Mufuruki told The Citizen in a telephone interview that the news about the arrest of the foreign fraudsters was pleasing.

"Having recently partnered with the Tanzania Police Force in equipping our police officers with basic cyber-crime fighting techniques, the CEO Roundtable of Tanzania is proud to see that our law enforcement agents are finally catching up with the criminals and this is good news," said Mr Mufuruki.


However, he cautioned that the arrest of the Bulgarians was only a tip of the iceberg. "There are more serious cyber crimes being committed in the country every day causing losses of billions of shillings not only to banks but the Government, telecommunications companies, airlines, insurance companies, pension funds " said Mr Mufuruki.

Mr Mufuruki said the ATM cases implied even the ordinary people were suffering under the cyber crime and added that the war against cyber criminals was going to be a long one requiring concerted efforts to win. The CEO Roundtable recently released Sh17.5 million (not Sh17billion as reported yesterday) to help train local police on cyber crime investigation and detection techniques.

In Dar es Salaam, the BOA bank managing director, Mr kobby Andah
Said in a phone interview that his bank has not been hit, saying most reported cases involved Visa and Master card systems which fraudsters easily targeted.


"We are fully prepared to handle any eventuality and conduct instant security swoops to detect any foreign objects in our systems," he said.

Mr Andah said they have installed an advanced armed security system to raise the red flag anytime a breach was registered. He also noted that the bank had integrated cameras at all their ATM outlets.

Mr Andah and the Stanbic Bank Head of marketing and corporate affairs Mr Abdallah Singano both said all banks were now working closely and networking to share information in a bid to tame the crime.


Mr Singano said their clients should not worry as the safety of their deposits was being taken care of. He however said the cases of those whose money has been stolen through the cyber crime would be dealt with separately.

At the CRDB Bank, spokesperson David Mbulumi said the institution would be issuing a statement later in the week.

Separately an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and security expert Mr Yona Maro said financial institutions needed to improve their monitoring systems and adopt appropriate technology to stay ahead of the criminals. He also suggested that firms handle carefully the technology installation sources to avoid falling into unforeseen traps.

Mr Maro advised the government and banks to invests more in cyber crime forensic training, have special people to monitor what goes on in internet chat rooms and international forums on cyber crime.

The head of cyber crime at the police headquarters Mr Andrew Jumamosi told The Citizen that lack of facilities and enough cyber experts is the the country was the main challenge facing the department.

"The amount allocated by the government to facilitate cyber training is insufficient as it costs dearly to training abroad," he said.

However, he urged financial institutions to report relevant cases connected to cyber fraud to help understand them. Currently he said the affected firms chose to remain silent in some cases.

Mr Jumamosi said due to the nature of the crime, the police have set cyber crime offices in ten major regions to help in surveillance.

The two arrested Bulgarian nationals according to Dar es Salaam police commander Mr Suleiman Kova will be charged in court on Friday