6 ATM card thefts, R43 000 stolen
Police warn ATM users to be vigilant after a spate of thefts in eMdloti, uMhlanga and La Lucia.
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POLICE have again warned residents to be wary when using ATMs after a spate of card thefts in the area. Since last week, there have been six cases where collectively, R43 000 was stolen from residents’ accounts.
According to Capt Raymond Deokaran, the thefts occurred at different times of the day.
“We’ve had cases in eMdloti, La Lucia, uMhlanga and two at service stations in the area. The biggest theft occurred in La Lucia where R29 000 was stolen from an account within a day. The second biggest was a theft of R9 000 at an ATM in uMhlanga.
“The thieves are distracting people and stealing their cards. Unfortunately, there has been a spike in ATM thefts in recent weeks. The most important thing is to never be distracted at the stall and report suspicious behaviour,” he said.
Deokaran urged residents to register for the notify service, which several banks offer, which automatically sends an SMS to customers when there is any activity on their accounts, such as withdrawals, debit orders and credit-card purchases.