In Intengo Imoto v Zoutpansberg Motor Wholesalers, the Supreme Court of Appeal held that a purchaser (debtor) who falls victim to EFT fraud through email interception, paying into a fraudulent bank account, has not discharged its payment obligation to the […]
In the matter of ENS v Hawarden, the SCA overturned the judgment in the High Court in Gauteng, holding ENS liable for the loss suffered by Mrs Hawarden because of a business email compromise. The SCA's finding is primarily based [...]
This case highlights the importance of verifying banking details before making electronic payments, especially when receiving a change of instructions. Who should care about this judgment and why? Essentially all businesses face the threat of business email compromise. This judgment provides [...]
In Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs(ENS) v Hawarden, ENS appealed the judgment handed down in Hawarden v Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs. The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) upheld the appeal and dismissed the original order from the high court. Hawarden may appeal this [...]
In Lester Connock Commemoration Fund v Brough Capital, the high court held Brough Capital liable for a breach of agreement in administering funds for the Rotary Club of Rosebank. The court found that fraudulent email transactions totalling R3.1 million occurred [...]
The main legal issue involved the court determining whether the investment company (PSG Wealth Financial Planning) had a contractual obligation to protect their client (Gerber) against financial losses caused by cybercrime, specifically when a fraudster hacked the client's email and [...]
In Safi v Gascoigne, Safi sued Gascoigne Randon and Associates, a conveyancing firm, for a loss of R889,308.50 from a business email compromise (BEC). Who should care about this judgment and why? The public because they need to be aware [...]
Every organisation has a duty of care to establish and maintain appropriate information security. The judgment in Hawarden vs ENS illustrates that no modern business can operate properly and lawfully without establishing and maintaining appropriate information security. The facts of [...]
In Hawarden v Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs (ENS), Hawarden succeeded in suing ENS for the loss of R5.5 million because of a Business Email Compromise (BEC). Hawarden was ENS' client. The court said that ENS owed a general duty of care [...]
Email, widely used for business purposes, is inherently insecure. Criminals exploit the insecurity of email by intercepting it and changing or compromising the information the actual sender communicates. This cybercrime has become known as business email compromise (BEC). In [...]
