Three ‘hackers’ arrested for allegedly conspiring to steal money from Sassa

Three people, who allegedly conspired to steal money by hacking into the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) system, are expected to appear in the Nelspruit Magistrate’s Court on Monday.

They were arrested on Friday during an intelligence-driven operation by the Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation team, together with Cyber Crime, the local criminal record centre and Sassa, said Hawks spokesperson Captain Dineo Lucy Sekgotodi.

“The suspects are accused of conspiring to steal monies by hacking into the Sassa system and have access into the organisation’s beneficiary accounts,” Sekgotodi said in a statement.

“An electronic device which was intended to be used to extract information, including a laptop, a scanner, Sassa cards and a suspect’s vehicle were seized.”

The three, aged between 27 and 39, face charges of corruption, fraud, conspiracy to commit an offence, and contravention of the Electronic Communication Act.

“Investigations are still ongoing,” Sekgotodi said.

Meanwhile, Sassa has announced the August dates for grants receipts, which will start out with older persons grant.

Sassa said older person’s grants would receive their grants on 3 August, while disability grants and all other grants will be paid out on 4 August and 5 August respectively.

The agency further urged recipients not to withdraw their grants on the first day due to Covid-19, and reassured them that once the “money is in their accounts it will remain there until it is needed”.

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