Lebanese nationals arrested in Zambia for internet & bank card fraud

A report posted on the Zambian Watchdog’s Facebook page this evening says a Zambian police source has told that the several Lebanese nationals were arrested today for internet and bank card fraud. The report suggests that the alleged fraudsters could have been working with bank insiders.

If this is true, it’s likely that the affected banks still use the old magnetic stripe cards. These are not secure as unscrupulous characters can skim the card’s contents and create duplicates cards which they then use to syphon money out of victims’ bank accounts. Banks have, in recent months, been introducing chip and pin cards, which are more secure as the pin numbers are used to confirm that the person using the card is the rightful card owner.

Here’s the full text of the post:

A combined team of state security officers has arrested several Lebanese Nationals for suspected bank cards scams and theft of money from depositors using internet fraud.

Two days ago, the Watchdog reported that an Asian businessman of Kabwe lost K43 000 on an account held at Investrust Bank. The Kabwe businessman is originally from Lebanon.

The money that belongs to depositors is withdrawn through ATM’s and using online payments without owners’ knowledge. During the theft, the owners of the money do not even suspect anything as they have thier original bank cards.

A police source has told the Zambian Watchdog that close to twenty Lebanese nationals have been arrested and detained in several Police stations in Lusaka.

It is likely that the Lebanese have been working with insiders in commercial banks.

image credit: diytrade.com