Over 5 000 numbers from three of SA`s major banks were affected in last week`s CardSystems credit card number breach.
The total number of stolen South African credit card numbers in three of the four major banks has passed 5 115, with Nedbank not releasing any figures.
This follows last week`s breach of US-based third-party payment processor CardSystems, in which 40 million card numbers worldwide were compromised.
While all the local banks say they have been proactive in the wake of the credit card number hack attack, they appealed to customers to remain vigilant.
"While the bank has instituted proactive security measures, we urge our clients to remain vigilant and to monitor their statements carefully," says Koos Nel, Nedbank senior manager of card fraud.
Absa is the only bank to state the cash values of the losses due to last week`s breach. Japie Krige, head of Absa`s card fraud division, says at least 2 615 Absa credit card details could have been compromised.
He says clients who had previously carried out Internet transactions using their credit card numbers lost R182 000 after the hacking incident, although "95% of this has been charged back".
A further R320 000 was stolen in 20 cases where card numbers and details were taken after physical transactions. "Unfortunately, these cannot be charged back," says Krige.
Standard Bank says the security of 1 500 of its credit cards could potentially have been affected, and new cards had been issued to clients to prevent any problems. FNB says 1 000 of its credit card numbers could have been compromised. It too, has issued new cards.
"We immediately started monitoring these accounts to check for any unusual transactions. So far, none of these accounts have been used for any fraudulent activity," says Mike Olsen, Standard Bank card division director.
Standard Bank and FNB say they have not detected any fraudulent activities on their accounts, while Nedbank says the impact on its cardholders has been minimal.
All three banks say there are processes to allow for reimbursement if any fraud is detected.
The banks have also set up call centres to deal with customer queries.
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