A 60-year-old man was robbed of a substantial amount of money that he withdrew from a bank in Joubert Street on Saturday, 30 June.
According to the Ermelo Police spokesman, Capt Carla Prinsloo, the man had withdrawn the cash at the bank at about 11.30am, when three unknown men approached him and forced him into a vehicle and drove off.
“The complainant said the men pulled out a firearm and took all his money and left him on the side of a road,” Capt Prinsloo said.
The police warned the public to be cautious when they withdraw large sums of money from a bank.
According to the police, they have seen an escalation in such incidents during June.
Capt Prinsloo added tips on what to do when you withdraw large sums of money from a bank:
• Avoid withdrawing the money and rather do cell phone or internet banking.
• Have one or more persons accompany you when going to withdraw money from the bank.
• Park near the bank to avoid walking with the money for a long distance.
• Have one person park near the bank so you can drive off as quickly as possible after withdrawing large sums of money.
With regards to the recent spate of bank card fraud at ATMs in Ermelo town, Capt Prinsloo also provided tips when approaching an ATM:
• Always check your surroundings before withdrawing money.
• Do not withdraw money if people are loitering around the ATM.
• Never let a person interfere while you are doing a transaction on the ATM.
• Do not let a person withdraw money on your behalf.
” Always be vigilant when using the bank and its services and if you feel like something is wrong with the ATM, immediately leave and look for another safer one,” Capt Prinsloo concluded.
