Hackers have broken into some Standard Chartered accounts held by Pakistanis
Some Standard Chartered account holders have apparently discovered that their bank accounts are now empty thanks to the work of hackers who attacked the bank’s ATMs. The bank sent text messages or emails to some of those whose accounts were affected.
However, others only discovered the breach when their debit cards were denied or when they attempted to take money out of an ATM.
Hackers break into Standard Chartered ATMs
At this time, it appears as if only Standard Chartered account holders in Pakistan have been affected by the ATM hack. ProPakistani reports that the hackers stole about Rs. 50,000 right out of their bank accounts. At this point it isn’t clear just how many customers were affected by it. The website reports that it took only a few seconds for hackers to steal a lot of money and move it into the U.K., which is where Standard Chartered has its headquarters.
Standard Chartered officials confirmed the hack to ValueWalk and said they take such incidents “very seriously.” Additionally, they said they’re continually monitoring and upgrading their ATMs for the safety of their clients and have taken measures “to further minimize skimming attempts” on their ATMs.
Standard Chartered works with some customers
Some customers called the bank’s customer service, while others rushed down to their local branches to report the thefts. At first, Standard Chartered officials responded positively to the customers who contacted them, according to the news report.
They reportedly told the customers that hackers had broken into the bank’s online system and that the customers would get their money back as soon as possible. However, they also said it would take some time to take down all the details about the affected customers and then return their money.
Some customers apparently told ProPakistani, however, that they did not receive positive responses from the bank. Instead, they were told to meet with the bank’s fraud department in order to be reimbursed for the stolen money. Many customers have apparently not received their money back yet.
Standard Chartered’s debit cards also affected
The hackers didn’t stop at just taking money out of Standard Chartered accounts. They also apparently accessed debit card records to move money to the U.K. from Pakistan. As a result, many customers found that the bank had blocked their debit cards and would need the bank to reissue them.
A spokesperson reportedly told ProPakistani that it’s not uncommon for hackers to practice ATM skimming, in which they use a skimming device that looks like part of an ATM to steal card numbers and PINs. They then use the numbers to make fake copies of debit cards.
The spokesperson also said most of the customers have already gotten their money back.
