TWO residents were robbed of R6 500 in what is believed to be a card-swapping incident in Durban North. In the first incident, the resident was using an ATM on Swapo Road (Broadway) at about 7pm when he was confronted by a man who attempted to help him and pressed the cancel button several times.
According to Lt Raymond Deokaran, spokesman for the Durban North SAPS, the ATM thief was not only able to ‘shoulder surf’ and get the resident’s pin but also swap his cards in the ensuing chaos.
“He saw the thief jump into a vehicle down the road and as he was trying to cancel his card, he noticed R5 000 had already been taken from his account. The thief forcefully tried to help him. He managed to swap the cards before making a hasty exit from the ATM stall,” said Deokaran.
Watch how the card swap works
“This is the seventh incident this year. In January, three residents had their cards swapped and were collectively robbed of R24 500. I urge residents to be vigilant at ATMs and to never accept any help. It’s also important to keep your information confidential and avoid lesser-used ATMs. People are well within their rights to ask someone to step back,” he said.
Deokaran urged residents to register for the notify service, which several banks offer, which automatically sends an SMS to customers when there was any activity on their accounts, such as withdrawals, debit orders and credit-card purchases.
