Pensioner, 77, robbed at ATM
Person pretending to be banker tricks elderly woman after withdrawing cash.
A 77-year-old woman and pensioner was conned and robbed casually of R800 by a person pretending to be a banker at the Village Square Mall in Greenhills yesterday (21 July).
According to Hendriena Pretorius, also known to friends as Drinie, the incident occurred around 1.30pm after she had withdrawn cash from a Nedbank ATM and was on her way to buy a few items at a nearby Checkers.
“I was walking past PEP store towards Checkers when I was approached by a friendly woman who said that she recognised me from Absa Bank. She then suggested that we go to Nando’s where I could sit down so that she could update me about the renovations happening there and how we should go about banking in the meantime,” Pretorius says.
“Without any suspicions or hesitation I accepted her offer and went to Nando’s with her. Once there, we sat down and she started a conversation. I believed every word,” says Pretorius.
She adds that the woman then asked to see the envelop in which she had her bank card and her cash, and said she wanted to explain something with the card. The woman managed to bag the pensioner’s cash amounting to R600 and replaced it with papers she had torn up.
She took her bank card as well and the piece of paper with her pin number. According to the pensioner, not once did she suspect a thing.
“I only became aware of what had happened when I received a notification SMS from my bank indicating that R200 had just been withdrawn. I then looked in the envelope for my card and made the shocking discovery. I found nothing but torn-up pieces of paper in the envelope and an Absa bank card that does not belong to me,” Pretorius continues.
She adds, “I have learnt my lesson but urge people to be extremely careful at all times and not fall for anyone’s tricks.”
Randfontein SAPS spokesperson Appel Ernst has warned the public about this and says people constantly should be vigilant when using ATMs.
She further advises that people should refrain from writing down their pin numbers on their bank cards or on anything that is kept with the card.
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