Card Cloner Admits Guilt
A 34-year-old woman has received a sentence of either a R40,000 fine or a year in prison after admitting to violating the Cybercrimes Act.
Yolanda Ngqukuva was apprehended by border control at OR Tambo International Airport in Kempton Park last month, while she was traveling from Qatar to Cape Town.
The former Europcar employee at Cape Town International Airport was arrested and subsequently handed to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks).
According to the investigation, Ngqukuva allegedly provided clients’ card details to a syndicate responsible for producing cloned cards, defrauding customers of more than R400,000.
On Thursday, she appeared in the Bellville Specialised Commercial Crime Court in Cape Town.
Western Cape provincial spokesperson for the Hawks, Lieutenant-Colonel Siyabulela Vukubi, indicated that Ngqukuva reached a plea and sentence agreement with the prosecution.
He reported: “The accused entered into a Section 105A plea agreement and sentence. She was convicted and sentenced as follows – for contravening the Cybercrimes Act, Act 19 of 2020, a fine of R40,000 or 12 months imprisonment.
“In addition, she received a five-year prison sentence that was fully suspended for a period of five years.”