KEEPING UP WITH EQUITY FRAUD! Here’s how mobile banking agent Namwanga lost Shs9.9m as bank blames MTN for negligence
Another Ugandan has come out to also tell-all her worst experience with Equity bank Uganda.
However, in a twist of events Equity denies any responsibility and instead blames MTN Uganda for negligence.
She is called Evelyne Namwanga. She is an Equity Bank Agent attached to the bank’s New Taxi Park Branch. She operates near KK Trust Hotel, Namirembe Rd, Kampala
Her sad story started on the evening of 7th April, 2021. On that fateful day, as she headed home (Ben Kiwanuka zone Rubaga) after work, she was attacked by a group of thugs riding on three motorcycles at around 8pm near Pastor Robert Kayanja’s Church.
Kicks, punches rained over her and in the process she lost a handbag containing her cell phone (a Samsung phone A30) which had both MTN and Airtel lines and as well shs 80000 in cash.
She did not suspect anything. She went to the hospital for medical attention and the following day went to the bank to withdraw the money she had received as an overdraft from Equity bank the previous day amounting to Shs9,980,000.
She was shocked when the teller at New Taxi Park Branch whispered to her that the account was empty. She was then referred to the bank’s branch manager who in turn referred her to the Church House-Equity’s headquarters.
She says Equity bank’s Okello Obua (Security department) registered her case and promised to get back to her with a full report.
She also proceeded to report a case to police under the SD Ref 17/08/04/2021 of Rubaga Police Post and was investigated under CRB 057/21 of Lungujja Police Station.
MTN UGANDA TO BLAME FOR NEGLIGENCE-BANK
Two months later, she says the bank told her it was not liable but instead MTN Uganda which failed to block her mobile number following the 7th April evening robbery. The bank advised her to follow the matter with MTN and the case was closed like that.
She had lost Shs9,980,000 which was an overdraft from the same bank. Insensitive as they were, the bank still menacingly demanded her to pay it back and this time it had shot to shs11m—she paid.
According to a bank report seen by this publication, on 15 April, 2021, the security department was notified by an Equity Bank Agent, one Namwanga Evelyne holder of account 1040201529969, of a robbery incident which occurred to her on 7th April 2021 where she lost a handbag containing her cell phone and subsequently lost Ugx.9,980,000 through the Eazzy Banking App.
That her cell phone had both MTN line 0779142080 and Airtel line 0753247378.
They say Namwanga, after the robbery (which occurred around 8pm) called both MTN and Airtel customer care service centers using a friend’s telephone line number 0789789395 at about 10pm and requested that the two telecoms block both lines but only Airtel acted and blocked the line 0753247378.
Surprisingly, according to the bank report, it was established that MTN never blocked the MTN line 0779142080—the line maintained on the bank account—although they were alerted of the robbery.
The investigation established that two hours later (at about midnight), a total of shs9,980,000 was transferred from her account number 1040201529969 (Namwanga Evelyne) to account 1033100612107 belonging to another customer by the names Awady Akampurira through Eazzy-net.
Again, the money was transferred to two other phone numbers through Eazzy Banking as follows: Telephone line 0785822639 registered in the names of Shamim Namubiru received shs4,970,000 and funds immediately withdrawn at a mobile money outlet. The second telephone line 0703414087 registered in the names of Gladys Twakyire received shs 4,990,000 and immediately withdrawn at a mobile money outlet.
“Both beneficiary lines above were newly registered telephone lines and were never
used to call any other line according to the call data retrieved. Awady Akampurira, account holder 1033100612107 was confirmed to have been an account which was taken over by the fraudsters but was not part of the fraud,” Equity bank’s report reads.
“Based on the above findings, we conclude that this was gross negligence on the side of MTN telecom hence the bank is not liable for this loss,” the report, prepared by Denis 0. Obua (Security Department) and dated 18th June, 2021 concludes.
Namwanga told this publication that she never had the Eazzy Banking App on her cell phone implying it was created by people who stole her phone.
She suspects these were aided by bank insiders.
She also wonders why she should walk empty handed yet customers’ deposits are protected by the Deposit Protection Fund.
NOT GIVING UP
Not going down without a fight, Namwanga decided to track down Awady Akampurira whose account number 1033100612107 was used by fraudsters.
After almost two years he was tracked down in South Sudan, lured back to Uganda and later arrested. He was on Monday, 6th January produced in court and remanded to Luzira until 14th of this month. He told court that he too had lost his cell phone around the same time but because he was rushing to Kenya for business, he never bothered to block his number. So the fraudsters could have accessed all his account details.
Equity bank says Akampurira was not part of the fraud.
The two mobile money lines where the money was sent were reportedly newly registered and were never used to call any other line according to the call data retrieved by Equity bank.
Namwanga says that the bank has not helped her to track them through the National Identification & Registration Authority (NIRA). WATCH THIS SPACE FOR MAXWELL LAWRENCE MUYONJO’S EXPERIENCE IN OUR SUBSEQUENT PUBLICATION.
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