A 69-year-old woman recently had R5 000 stolen from her bank account after using an ATM in the Randfontein Central Business District (CBD).
The woman wishes not to be named as the man who stole her money has threatened to kill her.
The victim said she went to draw money at an ATM in the CBD when a man stopped her saying that the ATM had no money in it.
She said she told the man she was fine and proceeded with her transaction. When he saw she was not paying attention to his distraction, he told her she was putting the card in incorrectly – and the next thing she knew, her card was missing.
The victim said when she realised her card was missing she immediately called to stop the card, but the bank official she spoke to on the phone told her that a total of R5 000 had just been withdrawn from her account.
After the incident, the woman went back to her office in Randgate, where she saw two men get out of a red VW Golf GTI. She claimed one of the men was person she had encountered at the ATM when her card disappeared and R5 000 was taken from her account.
She quickly jotted down the vehicle’s registration number on the first piece of paper she could find, which happened to be a church newsletter, but when the men saw her doing so, they made gestures indicating that they were going to kill her. Later they drove by her car and told her they would kill her.
The theft has since been confirmed by the Captain Appel Ernst, Randfontein Police spokesperson.
The victim said she immediately requested her security company to conduct regular patrols around her home, as she is in fear for her life.
She added that a man was robbed at a petrol station in Randgate only days after her incident. The robbers in this instance were reportedly travelling in the same vehicle as she observed after her incident, and the occupants matched the description she had given to the police.
She wishes to warn the town about what she described as two men travelling in a red VW Golf GTI, as they seemed to be doing rounds, stealing money from unsuspecting ATM users in town.
Do you perhaps have more information pertaining to this story? Email us at randfonteinherald@caxton.co.za (remember to include your contact details) or phone us on 011 693 3671.
Also read:Â
WARNING: ATM theft on the rise again
Don’t be a victim of ATM theft
Another ATM fraud victim speaks out
For free daily local news on the West Rand, also visit our sister newspaper websites Roodepoort Record, Krugersdorp News and Get It Joburg West Magazine
Remember to visit our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages to let your voice be heard!
