Lt Raymond Deokaran, spokesman for the Durban North station, urged residents to be vigilant when using ATM’s and not to accept strangers’ help.
He added police had recovered a card skimming device from a local shopping centre and had sent it to Pretoria for further testing. He added the skimmer could hold up to 2 000 (credit card) numbers. These details can then be transferred onto any card with a magnetic strip.
“In one of the incidents a resident recieved his statement at the end of the month stating R188 000 had been withdrawn from his bank account. In the second incident, the resident was distracted by two male suspect while at the ATM. While she couldn’t remember any of the suspects taking her card, we believe her card cloned and R22 000 was withdrawn from her account,” he explained. “Residents must be vigilant at ATMs and keep their personal information confidential and avoid lonely areas. It’s also important to guard the keypad.”
He urged bank customers to register for the notify service, which automatically sends an SMS to customers when there was any activity on their accounts, such as withdrawals, debit orders and credit-card purchases.
“If you see anything suspicious, contact the police or cancel the transaction. If you are in a shop and the assistant wants to swipe your card out of your sight, or in a second machine, you should ask for your card back straight away and either pay with a cheque or cash, or not make the purchase,” he said.
Precautionary steps you should take
Never allow strangers at an ATM to assist you with your banking.
Keep your PIN safe by memorising it, don’t write it on your card (among other things).
When using a debit or credit card to pay never let your card out of your sight.
Never give your personal information or banking details to strangers over the phone.
