AN uMhlanga resident resident has become the latest victim to fall prey to an ATM crime syndicate. The resident reportedly lost R3 000 in the incident after criminals swapped his card, and withdrew money from his account. The incident comes days after 81-year-old’s pension account was wiped clean at an ATM in Broadway (Swapo) Road.
According to Captain Raymond Deokaran of the Durban North SAPS there has been a spike in ATM fraud incidents.
“The resident had used an ATM on Chartwell Drive, when a man behind him told him there was something wrong with the machine and then forcefully tried to help him. He managed to press the cancel button and in the ensuing confusion, he swapped the cards and made a hasty exit from the ATM stall,” said Deokaran.
An hour later, R3 000 was taken from his account.
“They look for soft, easy targets. 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,” he said.
Deokaran urged residents to register for the notify service, which several banks offer, where an SMS is automatically sent out when there is activity on an account such as withdrawals, debit orders and credit-card purchases. Since the beginning of the year, more than R19 000 has been stolen from various accounts.
