A card payments processor for online transactions experienced a security lapse, which resulted in the leakage of a number of bank card details said the Payments Association of South Africa today.
Walter Volker, CEO of PASA, said that fraud has been perpetrated: “All major banks have had cards compromised. The ones that have been reported on have had limited exposure.” He could not verify the number of people affected by fraud but added: “Card numbers affected have been in the hundreds of thousands while losses have been in the tens of thousands. We have no fixed data yet.”
Name of card processor withheld
Volker added that the card processor’s details had not been released to protect the organisation. He said the decision was made after the company acted swiftly to become compliant. “We are currently working with them and they are being very co-operative and the source of the problem has been stopped,” he said.
What to do if you’ve been a victim of fraud
PASA said it was also working with the banks and credit card schemes to implement immediate measures to block potential exposure of the card data. “Should fraudulent transactions be perpetrated on any of these cards as a result of the data compromise, cardholders would not be exposed to any losses – as is the case under normal circumstances,” said PASA.
PASA advises consumers to contact their issuing institution directly and immediately if they have any concerns or suspicions of any transactions appearing on their card statements.