Woman thrown out of vehicle after phone grab has fraud claim with bank declined

A Johannesburg woman had her festive season ruined before it began when she was allegedly thrown from a moving vehicle after her phone was taken.

The incident left her recovering in a wheelchair, while she accused her bank of secondary trauma due to the hoops she was forced to unsuccessfully jump through. 

Tens of thousands of rands were withdrawn from her bank account, but the bank is digging its heels in over possible protocol breaches.

Thrown from vehicle

Bianca, who asked that her surname be hidden as her assailants are still at large, was on a night out near Fourways in late November when she was searching for an e-hailing ride.  

Two men noticed she was struggling to find a driver and offered her a lift as they were headed in the same direction, which she reluctantly accepted.

En route to another venue in Fourways, the men allegedly took the phone from Bianca, claiming they needed directions.

Shortly after, the men allegedly threw her from the vehicle near Winnie Mandela Drive, where she would lie on the side of the road for what she said felt like hours.

In the early hours of the morning, a man on a motorbike stopped to assist and flagged down another motorist, with Bianca able to relay her father’s phone number to the Samaritans.  

Bianca was taken to a hospital near Edenvale, where a doctor’s report, shown to The Citizen, shows she sustained a severe pelvic injury and was given Fentanyl and Ativan shortly before 3am.

Fight with bank

The medication reportedly sedated her to the point where she was unable to contact her bank for another day, and without her phone, she was unable to be notified of the activity on her bank account.

Bianca would soon discover that her bank account was virtually empty after a series of transfers made from the code-protected banking app on her phone.

The matter was reported to the police, and after contacting the bank and submitting a fraud and theft claim, the bank declined to refund the losses.

Standard Bank told The Citizen that it could not “share client-related information with third parties”, while Bianca has taken the matter to the ombudsman.

In Standard Bank’s rejection letter to Bianca, it stated that the bank had followed its own procedures and did not find itself at fault.

“The above transactions took place before the fraudulent activity was confirmed and the digital username subsequently blocked by the bank,” the letter states.

“Our investigation has revealed that the transactions listed above were conducted on your mobile banking profile from your stolen device, where your digital banking password was used to log in to your mobile banking profile.

“The bank has made its decision and, regrettably, will not be in a position to reimburse you for the losses you have suffered,” the letter confirmed.

‘We empathise greatly with clients’

Standard Bank was asked by The Citizen to clarify at what stage the bank becomes suspicious of activity related to mass withdrawals.

“Disclosing the specifics of our security features could compromise our ability to protect clients and manage Standard Bank’s risks effectively,” the bank replied.

The bank was also asked how it expected its client to deal with such circumstances.

“We empathise greatly with clients who find themselves in these situations and strongly encourage them to report the matter to the bank as soon as humanly possible to trigger our mitigation and recovery endeavours.

“Contact crime scenarios are extremely challenging as client safety and protection are paramount in these situations,” Standard Bank stated.

As well as the financial loss, Bianca has been left questioning whether “I am ever going to be the same”.

She relayed how she was made to feel like a suspect in her own ordeal.

“My life feels shattered. I am furious at the manner in which I am being made a victim in perpetuity. They are determined to make their clients victims,” Bianca said.

‘Bank is last line of defence’

Standard Bank reiterated that each case was judged on its merits, based on the documentation provided, but Bianca is angry that the bank does not seem to have sufficient safety nets in place.

“The bank is the last line of defence if anything happens to your device and access is gained to an allegedly secure app.

“If they cannot alert clients in a manner they deem timeous, there are simply no flags or procedures in place to mitigate any activity.

“They state the main priority is to protect their clients, yet I was not protected. It was unfettered access to emptying my account out.

“The litmus test here has been proven. No flags, freezes, or alerts went up when an account was emptied. There are simply no procedures in place for their alleged protection of their clients,” Bianca vented.

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