When phishing attacks involving swapped-out SIM cards hit the media towards the end of 2007, the two major mobile carriers were conspicuous in their silence. And well they might: Brainstorm understands that insiders at the two organisations were eventually dismissed for their roles in a wave of fraud that saw individuals and charities lose tens of thousands of rands from their bank accounts.

The Novalis Ubuntu Institute, a Cape-based charity, was scammed for R90 000 when a fraud syndicate member performed a SIM swap at an MTN outlet. At the time MTN said it regretted the loss of funds but “was not to blame”.