On 14 June Cohen entered the Wedge Shopping Centre to draw money from the ABSA ATM. She said that when she got there she noticed a man using the ATM. Cohen said, “While waiting, I also noticed the security camera facing the ATM machine, something that I always look for when using any ATM. When the man finished, I approached the machine and noticed the man standing a few feet back from me.”
She said that she suspected he had made a mistake and planned on using the machine again. Cohen added that she noticed him moving closer to her as she entered in her details. She struggled to enter her pin due to malfunctioning buttons and the man moved closer offering his assistance.
“I turned around to ask him to step further away from me so I could try and enter my pin one more time. As I turned I saw him running away and racing off in a white GTI. I turned back to the machine and my credit card was gone,” she said.
After immediately cancelling her credit card, Cohen approached a security guard to look at the surveillance footage in the centre. But the security guard told her that the cameras in the centre were not working.
She filed her complaint to the Wedge Shopping Centre. Deidre Stoffel, a representative from the Wedge Shopping Centre, said that they will be replacing the onsite security team and the surveillance system is in the process of being upgraded; a fully functional system will be in place within the next two weeks.
Cohen has expressed disappointment and anger towards the shopping centre’s poor level of security saying, “If the security cameras are not working, step security up, especially around target areas like ATM machines.”
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