A 72-Year Nyeri Man Loses Entire Sh457,000 Life Savings In A Perpetrated Fraud In The Equity Bank System

In a fraud case registered under OB /62/24/8/2020  a Nyeri man has lost his entire savings in Equity Bank. According to his son Edward Karungu, the old man had gone to bed with money sitting in his account only to wake up to an empty shell in what he now suspects to be an insider job and a weak link in the bank’s system.

Below is the full story as per Edward;

Edward Checks Karungu

My 72 yr father wakes up on 21Aug 2020 only to find a shocker that his bank account balance is at zero. Equity systems had defrauded him. His Kes. 457,000 has vanished in the thin air. My dad, in reaction, hurriedly heads to the Equity Nyeri branch hoping that he’s just having a bad dream, and its not a reality.

He requests the bank officials for a statement of his account. To his disappointment, his account is now not even zero but at negative Kes. 25,000, to add salt to the injury, the fraudster had already taken an Equitel Loan of Kes. 25,000. It is affirmed that all his savings amount to Kes. 475,000 was withdrawn via the Eazzy net as indicated in the bank statement. 

My dad approaches Nyeri Equity branch Operations Manager, who blushes him aside by saying, ’Mzee toka… ,inaoneka ulipeana password..” My poor father engages the Operations Manager informing him that he’s not out of mind and at no occasion has his shared his passwords with anyone.

He also insists that being a sober man always, no one has called him asking him for any bank or personal details. The bank also confirms that no one has swapped his Equitel line. All these transactions were done without my dad getting any notification on the transactions taking place.

My dad languishes in poverty, as all his hard-earned savings were wiped out, and Equity Bank staff are not even willing to raise a ticket to allow the fraud team to start their investigations. My father entrusted the bank with his money, hoping that the bank keeps it secure.

Upon him losing the money without giving his consent, Equity bank does not even offer a chance to investigate the matter, leave alone reporting to the fraud team for investigations. I highly suspect that the Equity staff had a hand in this theft by the gesture that the Nyeri branch operational manager is unwilling to listen to my dad report the case proceedings. He is adamant of my dad reaching out to the Equity Criminal Investigation fraud team.

Dear @KeEquityBank, My 72 yr dad is languishing in Poverty in Nyeri. He had a savings of 475k. Equity is not willing to raise the issue to the fraud teams for investigation. All his savings have mysteriously vanished from his account.@KeEquityBank #EquityBankTheft @DCI_Kenya pic.twitter.com/JAmr59YLvV

— EDWARD CHECKS HOWELL (@Edwardkarungu) September 10, 2020

Those with saving in Equity, be sure your money is not safe. Eazzynet is a vulnerable mobile payment service providing a loophole for thieves and rogue Equity Bank staff to perpetrate fraudulent schemes. 

Eazzynet and Equitel lines have made Equity bank so vulnerably and ineffective, as thousands of savers keep on anonymously losing their cash. Anyone there assists me to sue Equity bank and help me get in touch with relevant personnel who will conduct thorough investigations.

With me are a Police OB number, my dad’s affidavit letter from lawyers on a detailed report on the happenings, and a demand letter to the Equity group. Your savings are safer at home as compared with Equity bank.

Equity I quit,another friend of mine lost 120k in a mysterious way .these cases are common with equity bank

— DUNCAN KINYUA (@Dunkyoid) September 11, 2020

This is not an isolated case as it appears from endless complaints on social media, many have been losing their money in mysterious situations with little or no satisfactory explanations coming from the bank.