Republic Bank (Guyana) Ltd today said that some of its VISA debit card customers had been hit by fraud as a result of what is known as a “Brute-Force” attack.
In an advertisement in today’s Stabroek News, Republic Bank said that the Brute-Force attack is a “trial-and-error method used by fraudsters to obtain within seconds, payment card information such as an account number, card expiration date etc”.
It said that once this information is obtained the fraudsters attempt numerous transactions with merchants globally. It said that while many of these attempts failed some succeeded resulting in customers’ accounts being fraudulently debited.
It said that as stated before, this unusual activity was picked up by the Bank’s monitoring systems and in collaboration with VISA additional authorising measures were implemented. It said these temporary measures have resulted in some legitimate online transactions being blocked. It stated that customers who experience problems with online transactions using their VISA OneCard are asked to contact customer support using the following numbers: 1-800-271-4725 or 1-868-625-1200. The ad said that efforts are being made to acquire a toll-free number in the “shortest possible time frame”.
It said that with the help of affected customers it continues to repay sums proven to have been fraudulently withdrawn. It encouraged customers who suspect fraudulent transactions to visit the nearest bank branch and confirm and validate their transactions.
It also asked customers to remain vigilant in monitoring their account activity and apologized for any inconvenience caused. It said that it is working towards a permanent solution to the problem.
On June 17, Bank of Guyana Governor Gobind Ganga said the bank has to refund for all fraudulent activity on its VISA Debit Cards.
Ganga said reports of the bank only paying customers for fraudulent purchases made within three months of a report are “unacceptable”.
“That is unacceptable if there is fraud it doesn’t matter how long that fraud is dated back. Republic Bank or any bank will have to ensure that the customer receives their appropriate refund,” he said in response to questions on the issue.
Ganga explained that he understands the Bank is in a period of transition, with Managing Director Richard Sammy out of the jurisdiction on training, and is willing to work with them to improve cybersecurity while remaining customer friendly.
Customers have complained that the Bank has baulked at refunding sums which were used outside of the three-month period but according to Ganga the Bank of Guyana maintains that once it is established that a transaction was fraudulent customers will be reimbursed.
Earlier this month, Ganga had said that Republic Bank had said that it had repaid more than $5 million to in excess of 50 customers and was investigating other claims.
