Police official scammed

A police constable was shocked to hear that the bank refuses to refund almost R8 000 that was stolen from his bank account.

Const. Velaphi Samson Tantsi of Extension 11, Ikageng says his card was cloned by criminals and is warning members of the public to be careful and aware of their surroundings.

The unhappy Standard Bank client says he inserted his bank card at the Standard Bank ATM at Jenny’s Quality Foods. He did not key in his pin number at that time, however, because the machine displayed the message ‘voucher number.’ Tantsi kept pressing the cancel button; it was the first time he had ever seen this kind of prompt.

“While I was still perplexed about the message on the screen, I received an SMS notification that R3000 had been withdrawn from my bank account. After a few minutes, another R3000 was withdrawn while my card was still in the machine. I have a faulty phone, so it was difficult to reach the bank on time,” he explained.

Tantsi decided to rush to the nearest branch to cancel the card. While on his way, he received another notification that R1735.90 has been swiped at Blue Bottle Liquor Store near OK Grocer.

Tantsi spoke to the branch manager and his case was investigated by the head office. After four days, the investigation was concluded.

“The bank said someone had cloned my card: however, I would not be refunded as I am the one who compromised my secret pin number. They also stated that I acted negligently by leaving the ATM. This does not make sense because, if I had not left the ATM to cancel my card, I wouldn’t have a cent left in my account.”

Tantsi says he cannot believe that anyone could withdraw more than his daily limit of R2 000.

He went to the bottle store the same day and the shopkeeper told him that three men had bought four very expensive whiskeys in the store using a gold card that looked like an FNB bank card for the purchase. According to Tantsi, the bank has refused to conduct investigations at the bottle store even though there is video footage available.

He has opened a case with the police and would like to warn the public that there are card scammers in Potchefstroom.

The Standard Bank spokesperson, Erik Larsen said: “We have again reviewed the matter and, unfortunately, we cannot refund him. The only way someone can access a customer’s account is using the customer’s bank card and secret Pin. In this case, Mr Tantsi’s card and Pin were used. His bank card could either have been swapped or stolen at the ATM.”

Larsen confirmed ATM withdrawals at 10:21:00 and at 10:21:51, in addition to the transaction at the liquor store at 10:29:16. The card was stopped at 10:49:32. He says Tantsi’s daily cash withdrawal limit is R6 000 and he has a point of sale limit of R2 000.

“We understand how devastating this loss must have been; however, customers must ensure that they do not compromise their card or their Pin,” he cautioned.