A man who lost R1.8m from his bank account is part of a growing group of outraged clients gearing up for a legal fight with banks, says a Fin24 report. The banks implicated by more than 20 clients are Absa, Standard Bank, FNB and Capitec. The mobile network providers are Vodacom and MTN. ‘We hope to launch in the next few weeks but as more information comes out and victims come forward, we are considering all avenues,’ attorney Johan Victor reportedly told Fin24.

‘We will in due course also take action against the cellphone companies.’ Victor explained that the potential case, at present, is a combined application on behalf of numerous clients who have been defrauded through alleged SIM-swaps and phishing attacks. Victor said the losses of his clients run into millions, with the highest at present being R1.8m and the lowest R43 000.

The list of demands includes the IP addresses where fraudulent transactions were carried out, full details of all bank personnel who had access to the accounts of clients and details of the accounts to which all monies were transferred to. The Cape Town-based corporate law activist said this information is similar to that which was outlined in a court order which was granted against Standard Bank, in a matter also brought by his firm last year. In that case the bank settled with the client and therefore didn't transfer any details.

Full Fin24 report