EcoCash and its parent company Cassava Smartech have released a statement concerning the US$100 million WhatsApp scam that has been making the rounds in the press. In the initial report by The Herald this morning it said that criminals were able to hack the EcoCash & WhatsApp accounts of individuals in order to impersonate them and make off with money after offering their friends and family above market rate forex deals.
EcoCash and Cassava have reposnded to this claim and said the following:
Public Notice Warning: Guard Against Fraud
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.
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
To add to what EcoCash has said, we think it would be prudent to properly confirm the identity of a friend or family member who suddenly offers you a forex deal that’s too good to be true.
What we mean by this is that you should call the person to make sure that they are indeed who they say they are. This isn’t only for changing RTGS to USD but for anything that involves the exchange of money on EcoCash or even a bank transfer.
This might seem like overkill but the alternative is losing money to someone who has gained access to your friend or relative’s number and EcoCash Wallet.
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US$100 mil EcoCash WhatsApp scam doesn’t make sense & here’s why
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3 comments
What I don’t understand is why they don’t just follow the paper trail? There are no cash outs happening, so the money has to be transferred to another Ecocash account or bank account. Due to withdrawal limits it still also can’t be taken out quickly, leaving transfers or purchases as the only method of consumption.
Even if it is 100 million bond, I doubt it can be spent so fast. The paper trail should be there.
Probably disposed of through merchant payments where an ID is not required.
I have a feeling these are sim swaps being done by rogue Econet insiders.