Teller hacks into POSB system

Zvikomborero Parafini 

A BANK teller, Leeroy Rueben Murera, and his friend, Tizirai Ben Mudarikwa, are being accused of hacking into the core banking system and defrauding POSB.

Murera and Mudarikwa were allegedly helped by Ronald Thulani Mutumbi and Forget Makuza, who worked as a security guard at the POSB’s Nelson Mandela Avenue branch, in Harare.

Murera was in charge of distributing instant account activations, cash withdrawals and deposits, and carried out the hacking instructions on a colleague’s computer.

It is alleged that Mudarikwa sent hacking codes to Murera as well as voice notes, with instructions on how to hack the banking system. 

Murera allegedly went to his workmate Lorraine Baradza’s computer, without her knowledge, and entered the hacking codes and the system displayed the security configurations. 

Murera took a screenshot and sent it to Makuza who sent it to Mudarikwa 

Murera was captured on the bank’s CCTV entering hacking codes and taking screenshots on Baradza’s computer.

When Mudarikwa confirmed that they had hacked the core banking system, Murera and Mutumbi opened fraudulent prepaid Mastercard accounts and later received deposits of US$1,0 using a POSB point of sale machine on June 9.

They were issued with a POSB Mastercard which they activated on a POS machine.

POSB later established that its core banking system had been hacked and made a report to the police, which led to the duo’s arrest. 

Police recovered communication from their cellphones after the arrest. 

Mudarikwa and Murera appeared before Harare magistrate Munashe Chibanda.

Mutumbi and Makuza are still at large.