CABS Dismisses Cyber Attack Allegations

A recent social media post by journalist Hopewell Chin’ono shared a Facebook post by a person claiming that CABS had been hacked and funds were being withdrawn:

Someone has got illegal access to the CABS payment system. Funds are being withdrawn from accounts. Reports are being made at the moment to Police Stations. I am at Borrowdale Police Station and they have just recorded their sixth report this morning.

CABS released a statement on their Facebook page claiming that their system had not been compromised. CABS says the Facebook post referenced by Hopewell refers to card cloning incidents:

CABS has noted messages circulating on social media claiming that CABS payment systems have been compromised and accounts have been accessed Illegally.
We would like to advise our customers that our systems have not been compromised. The writer was referring to incidences of card cloning.We would like to urge all our customers to be vigilant when making card transactions.

CABS suggests that clients do the following to protect themselves from card cloning:

1. Be alert at all times. Not everyone standing around you has good intentions.
2. Never lose sight of your card when making a transaction.
3. Do not let anyone see you enter your pin; hide your pin when transacting at an ATM/ POS machine.
4.If you have the new Chip & Pin card. request the Chip option when swiping on a POS machine.
5.Register for SMS alerts for full visibility of the activities on your account
“6. Download the CABS Mobile Banking App on the App store and Google Play. The App has a function that allows you to block end unblock your card. If you detect any suspicious activity on your account, visit any CABS branch immediately.

Outside of these tips, CABS also shared that they are in the process of rolling out Chip and PIN cards which offer better protection from card cloning.