ATM crime operation pays off
The arresting team apprehended the suspect and the customer's stolen bank card was found in his possession.
A suspected ATM fraudster was apprehended at Mall@Carnival following a law-enforcement operation aimed at combating this type of crime.
According to information received from Brakpan police, the operation followed a meeting between Absa Bank, Vusela Risk Services and Security Management Solutions (SMS) regarding ongoing card crime in the Gauteng area.
The operation took place on June 14 from 3pm to 8pm with the arresting team – consisting of Vusela, Absa and SAPS members – deployed to arrest suspects identified by the SMS Control Centre using live CCTV monitoring.
The control centre was tasked with monitoring the site to detect any suspicious activities and to inform the team immediately to facilitate arrests.
They didn’t have to wait long.
At approximately 6.13pm, a 28-year-old male suspect approached the Absa ATMs in the mall and pressed the cardless transaction button next to the screen while standing with money in his hand and pretending to transact.
Read: Be warned of fraudsters promising jobs at Stats SA
He waited for a victim to approach the ATM.
A male customer approached and struggled to insert his bank card into the card reader slot because the suspect had activated the cardless function on the ATM.
The suspect approached the customer, took his bank card from his hand, pressed the cancel button on the keypad, pretended to insert the bank card into the card reader slot, but hid it behind the money in his hand.
He pressed the cardless button next to the screen, positioned himself next to the customer, viewed the PIN and walked away from the ATM.
The customer attempted to retrieve his bank card from the card reader slot but was unsuccessful because his bank card was never inserted.
Meanwhile, the SMS Control Centre supervisor contacted the arresting team and gave them a full description of the suspect.
The arresting team apprehended the suspect and the customer’s stolen bank card was found in his possession.
The customer and suspect were taken to the Brakpan Police Station, where the customer opened a case of theft and the suspect was detained.
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