Man accused of phishing scam amounting to R200K to appear in court
A 52-year-old man made his first appearance in court for fraud and money laundering, the Hawks said.
CAPE TOWN - A 52-YEAR-OLD man being held in a Klerksdorp prison is expected in the Gqeberha New Law Court on Wednesday in connection with a phishing mail scam which allegedly defrauded a victim of almost R200 000.
Kholiwe Moses Janda made his first appearance in the Gqeberha New Law Court on Monday after his arrest by the Gqeberha Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team of the Hawks on Friday on charges of fraud and money laundering.
“On February 16, 2018, an Absa bank client reported to the bank that he received a suspicious email. Absa informed him that all was well with his account and that no suspicious activity was detected,” Hawks spokesperson Yolisa Mgolodela said.
On the same day, the client received an SMS informing him that a beneficiary account was added to his account.
He further received an SMS informing him that “K factory” had been added as a beneficiary on his account and another SMS from Absa Fraud Department that they had detected suspicious activities on his account.
He was later contacted by the fraud department and informed that fraud was discovered on his account – money had been transferred to the added new beneficiaries.
Two fraudulent transactions were successfully made, adding up to more than R199 000.
“The matter was reported to the Hawks in March 2018 for probing, which culminated in the arrest of Janda on Friday. He was traced as far as Klerksdorp prison, where he is already serving a 15-year jail term for another offence since September 2021,” Mgolodela said.
Janda is expected back in the New Law Court on Wednesday for legal representation.
Cape Times