Flutterwave, one of the fast-growing digital payments startups in Africa, has denied reports of a hack on its platform which allegedly indicated that its customers lost about N2.9 billion to the incident.
The company, it a statement on Sunday, maintained that its platform was not hacked as alleged by some news report but that it only identified an “unusual trend of transactions” on some users’ profiles during a routine check by its transaction monitoring team.
According to the firm, it reviewed the transactions and noted that some users, who had not activated recommended security settings, may have been susceptible to the trend and therefore acted fast to ensure that none of its customers suffer any loss from the unusual transactions.
The company clarified: “During a routine check of our transaction monitoring system, we identified an unusual trend of transactions on some users’ profiles. Our team immediately 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 susceptible.
“We want to confirm that no user lost any fund 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. We want to reassure you that Flutterwave has not been hacked”, it maintained.
The firm’s management also added that as a financial institution that monitors transactions through its monitoring system and 24-hour fraud desk from which it reviews any suspicious activity, the company was also collaborating with other financial institutions and law enforcement agencies to ensure security of its transaction ecosystem at all times.
It assured: “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 licenses such as the PCI-DSS & ISO 27001. These are in line with global best practices in information security management.
“We want you to continue to trust us and feel secure in using Flutterwave for your business needs. Our commitment is to enable your business growth while keeping your financial information safe and secure”, the firm added.
Despite Flutterwave’s rebuttal of the hack report first published by Techpoint a few weeks ago, some Tweeter users alleged that the hack was real and that some customers lost millions of Naira to the incident.
One of them, Alex Onyia, tweeted: “Flutterwave has been hacked by Omar Edewor Trades with bank account number (1637479865 Access Bank) and several millions of naira have been stolen from people’s accounts. Everyone should generate a new API Key.”
Another user tweeted @BiggyPrints also claimed that his account was blocked in connection with the stolen funds from Flutterwave.
