Hackers steal R5.5m from dept
2009-10-13 08:38
Pretoria - Suspected cyber hackers have stolen a total of R5.5m from the bank account of the education department in Mpumalanga, presumably with inside help.
The thieves even went as far as to first transfer the money from the department's bank account to registered beneficiaries, like the departments of roads and transport and finances as well as the education department, by using the department's Basic Accounting System (BAS).
But the bank details of the beneficiaries were changed on the computer system and the payments were channelled to seven accounts.
Eleven recipients, including individuals, closed corporations and members of these corporations, benefited from the payments.
The money was paid into seven different accounts on August 24 and 25 and again on September 24. There were several transfers and the amounts ranged between R864 000 and R989 000.
The fraud came to light when a clerk at Nedbank noticed that the huge amounts that were paid into a woman's account, didn’t fit with her financial profile at the bank.
After the irregularities were discovered, a forensic investigation was launched.
According to documentation seen by Beeld, no official paper trail could be found that authorised any of the transactions.
Inside help?
It was suspected that hackers of computers in Gauteng, with the help of login names and passwords from staff at the department, had gained access to the BAS system.
It was also being considered whether the hackers had help from staff in the department or if they had broken through the security network.
The high court in Pretoria on Friday awarded a court order to the Mpumalanga asset seizure unit to freeze the accounts.
Only R1 543 345 could be "saved" in this manner.
The rest of the R5 512 972 that was initially stolen, had disappeared and was probably withdrawn as cash.
The companies and people who were allegedly involved in the fraud, are from as far away as Cape Town and KwaZulu-Natal.
Charges of fraud have meanwhile been laid with the police's commercial branch in Nelspruit.
The department will possibly comment on the matter later, said spokesperson Jasper Zwane.