Unsecured Online Banking

I just received an SMS from Emirates NBD:

"Please do not click or respond to emails asking for account, card or internet banking details.  Emirates NBD will NEVER ask for such info.  To report call 600 54 0000."

Emirates NBD gives a great service, even online.  If you do double online transaction, they will immediately contact you and verify the transaction.  Even for very small amounts.

Unfortunately, this is the opposite to my sister's bank - Standard Chartered Bank.  She lost more than AED 26,000/- in her bank account in less than an hour last February 2010.  Somebody hacked Standard Chartered Bank online banking system and bought Etisalat mobile load worth AED 26,500/- in less than an hour and their system did not detect anything suspicious about the transaction.

She made the complaint on the same day to Standard Chartered Bank when she received a system text message saying that she doesn't have enough money on her account to do the last transaction.  It was very illogical to not send successful online transaction text messages but only for failed online transactions.

Later on they told her to follow up with Etisalat since the money was with them now.  My sister has been feeling down and hopeless for several months now.  She never thought that she would lose that amount of money while deposited in a bank.  I cannot imagine the mental torture that she is having on how to get her money back from Standard Chartered Bank.

My opinion was Standard Chartered Bank should upgrade their online banking system like Emirates NBD which can detect scrupulous online transactions like what happened to my sister.  Isn't buying online load worth AED 26,500/- very uncommon and should be regarded as a phishing activity?

Standard Chartered Bank should return her money and they should file a case against the people who hacked their online banking system.   Their employees are the only ones who has access to their system and they can find out who these culprits are.  The loads were passed to several phone numbers here in Dubai and the UAE has a very strict policy when buying sim cards.  The identity of the culprit is in the record books of Etisalat.  Only the police has access to that.  We tried calling Etisalat and they told us that we should file a case with the police which was already done by my sister.  But I think that Standard Chartered Bank should be the one who is doing these since the money was stolen from them.  It was stolen not from my sister's purse but from their online banking system.

I just pray that this will get resolved and that my sister will get her money back.