Panic as customers allege KCB mobile accounts being hacked

BT ReporterMar 7, 20181 Mins read4.6k

Customers at a KCB Bank branch. The lender has begun disbursing 12.7% of deposits remaining at Imperial Bank Ltd, which is still in liquidation.

KCB Bank has launched investigations into complaints by customers that unauthorised deductions are being made from their accounts. The lender took to social media to assure its customers that their money is safe after several complaints in recent weeks.

According to some of the aggrieved customers, whenever such deductions are discovered, the bank shifts blame instead of resolving them. Others told of instances where they have sent direct messages to the bank’s social media accounts, which are never addressed. Some have even been threatening to close their accounts while others said they had already done so.

“KCB Bank Kenya Limited is aware of social media conversations regarding allegations of unauthorized deductions in clients’ accounts. We have taken up the matter with the seriousness it deserves and would like to assure all our customers that their money is safe,” KCB Bank tweeted on Wednesday.

“As a trusted financial partner, we take our duty of confidentiality to our customers seriously and resolve any issues that may arise directly with the customer,” it added.

Apparently, the most affected are mobile accounts. But, according to KCB, as long as one does not share his PIN or password, the account’s integrity cannot be breached.

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“Hi. Provided you do not share your PIN/Passwords, no one can access your account. All our accounts are secure. The mobile banking PIN can only be unblocked / reset through the branch.If you have an ATM card you can carry out a self reset at an KCB ATM. EO,” it said in response to a previous inquiry.

In December, the tier one lender floated a tender for a biometric access system that will allow customers to use their fingerprints and voice to securely log into their accounts, including getting services at ATMs in a move to curb fraud. Equity Bank and Standard Chartered Bank already have similar systems.

“The solution will provide… easy customer biometric feature on boarding process, easy to use application to authenticate customers, secure, reliable and auditable administration of the customer biometric features,” the tender document read.