Banking group Absa says there is still no news on the investigation into the highly publicised e-banking fraud case.
At least three Internet banking accounts were compromised, resulting in funds worth about R500 000 being misappropriated, and seven other possible cases have been reported.
I can`t say how many detectives are working on it, but it is most certainly more than one.
Riaan Pool, superintendent, SAPS on Absa e-banking fraud investigation
One week after the news of the definite compromise of three accounts, Absa, the SA Police Service (SAPS) and forensic auditors from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) are keeping silent on progress on finding the culprit or culprits.
All of the compromised account-holders are located in Belville, north of Cape Town. This is the first known case of fraud being perpetrated using keylogging whereby the account holders` keystrokes were recorded to gain access to their passwords.
According to Absa group information security director Richard Peasy, the identity of the suspect still remains a mystery and no clue is forthcoming as to what happened to the money or how it is being traced.
"This is a fraud matter and the suspect obviously knows the social and geographic area of the people he has targeted," Peasy says.
Absa`s public relations department says it is not planning to make statements on the investigation today or tomorrow.
Questions about the investigation that Absa either is unable to answer or comment on include: why all account-holders were in Bellville, whether the other seven possible cases can be confirmed yet, and where the money was transferred to once it had been taken out of the victims` accounts.
SAPS spokesman superintendent Riaan Pool says the investigation has reached a sensitive stage and that it would not be "appropriate" to comment further on the progress.
He says the Bellville Commercial Crime Unit is working closely with Absa and the PwC forensic auditors.
Pool says he feels the police are well equipped to deal with such a case and that a number of detectives are working on it.
"I can`t say how many detectives are working on it, but it is most certainly more than one," Pool says.
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