Flutterwave, a Nigerian fintech company has debunked reports that its account was hacked and the sum of N2.9 billion diverted by fraudsters.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the fintech company said it collaborates with other financial institutions and law enforcement agencies to keep its ecosystem safe and secure.
“We want to reassure you that Flutterwave has not been hacked. As a financial institution, we monitor transactions through our transaction monitoring systems and 24-hour fraud desk and review any suspicious activity,” the statement said.
Earlier, reports said that hackers made away with ₦2.9 billion (about $4.2 million) from the company’s accounts and that the funds were illegally transferred into several accounts with different Deposit Money Banks in Nigeria.
The breach allegedly compelled the company to take an order to freeze the accounts of several customers in many banks, affecting over 300 customers, the reports said.
However, Flutterwave in its statement acknowledged that there was an attempted attack on its platform, but insisted it was unsuccessful due to security measures put in place.
The fintech company claimed that during a routine check of its transaction monitoring system, it identified an unusual trend of transactions on some users’ profiles and that its team acted accordingly.
“We want to confirm that no user lost any funds, and we take pride in the fact that our security measures were able to address the issue before any harm could be done to our users.
“At Flutterwave, we understand that our customers’ personal and financial information is of the utmost importance. We take this responsibility seriously and understand that any potential security breach can cause anxiety and concern among our customers,” the statement noted.
Fluuterwave added that its team of experts promptly launched a review in line with our standard operating procedure, which revealed that some users who had not activated some of our recommended security settings might have been at risk.
Some Nigerians on Twitter has complained that their banks froze their accounts based on an order received from Flutterwave.
“My Kuda account was locked after I received a cash transfer from a customer (Access Bank) strictly on biz purpose. It’s been over a week now and Kuda Bank has refused to unlock my account even after submitting all requested documents,” Dickson Solomon, a Twitter user said.
Another user Igwe Swift wrote: “My money and that of my godmom have been frozen for weeks now and each time I contacted Union Bank, they were specific it was because of a flutterwave hack but offered no real solution”.
There is also a police statement purportedly sent on the behalf of Flutterwave by the company’s legal representatives posted on social media which clearly states that the company had suffered a breach by internet hackers.
However, the tech company urged its customers to continue to trust its operations and feel secure in using Flutterwave for their business needs.
“Our commitment to keeping our users’ financial information safe and secure is why we invest heavily in security initiatives such as periodic audits, certifications, and licences such as the PCI-DSS & ISO 27001. These are in line with global best practices in information security management.”
This is coming at a time when citizens are cash-starved, Deposit Money Banks’ infrastructure for conducting financial transactions via the Internet has been overwhelmed and more people are relying on fintech companies to conduct their businesses.
