Last month a regular ATM user and Spar customer was a victim when her card did not respond to the teller machine immediately after she put in her pin number and the amount she wanted.
Also Mrs Zacharias said thousands were withdrawn from her account a second before she could call the bank to block the card. It is not surprising that after she put in her pin number, the screen went white for a moment and when it came on again it said ‘insert card’ as if there was no card inserted.
This proves that there are people who are smart enough to manipulate the ATMs so that you think your card is stuck while it is not. Her husband was also scammed and this is the third time this has happened to their family.
A 52-year-old anonymous man who was also tricked said he was with his wife on an early Friday morning to buy some groceries so they normally start at the ATM to withdraw some money. While waiting in the queue, behind him there were two neatly dressed men and a young school girl. After he realised that his card was stuck, they immediately went into the shop to ask for some assistance from the managers and securities.
As they were explaining what happened his cellphone reported that R2 000 has been withdrawn and they went back to the ATM to see who is withdrawing from his card. The school girl was the suspect because they found her at the ATM, however she had her own card and said the two men who just left took five seconds on the machine and they were in a hurry after they were done.
The Staff and management at the retail outlet do confirm that they receive several daily complaints from customers who storm into the store to report their lost cards. Spar manager Rico Somah noted that they do get daily complaints from their customers and it has become a problem for their business because people feel that they are responsible for the ATMs that are outside.
They do not know how these criminals manage to manipulate the machines but they doing it pretty good. Just after you punch in your pin number and the amount you want, the screen goes on and off in a second then it will go back to say ‘insert card’ as if you did not put your card. The moment you walk away the person behind you queuing might be the suspect who will reverse the machine to withdraw money from your account.
Thabo Mbembe, a Spar security guard said it has been part of his daily job to deal with ATM victims and tell them that they must call the customer number at the bottom of the ATM slip to block their account.
He said he always tells people the same thing every day because he does not know what to tell them anymore. He has become sceptical of using any ATM because it is not just here, even at Spar in Rosettenville, Southdale Shopping Centre and other areas in the south people are complaining. People should watch out because ATM scams are in the rise everywhere.
Mthuzi Tsetse
