Police were called out to a disturbance in the Delmas Central Business District (CBD).
A group of community members was fighting with the alleged fraudster after he was caught with the skimming device. They were trying to stop him from getting away. Delmas SAPS quickly arrested the suspect for possession of an illegal card reader, commonly known as a skimming device, which was found on him.
The arrest was made on June 26 and the suspect appeared in Delmas Magistrate’s Court on June 30 after an initial investigation. Mr Galion Mamailia, who apparently lives in eMalahleni, apparently tried to clone cards at an ATM in Jan Cilliers Street, Delmas, with the skimming device.
Crime Investigation Unit in Middelburg is handling the investigation further. Investigators are apparently also looking into reported card cloning cases that might link to the accused.
The encouraging news comes after several cases of card cloning were reported to the WITBANK NEWS. A man on holiday who was visiting family in eMalahleni was allegedly the victim of fraud after he made a transfer at a local bank.
He has since cancelled his card and reported the incident to his bank.
A woman, who was filling her car up at a local petrol station, tried to pay with her bank card. The machine declined her card and the attendant apparently went to get another machine.
She realised that the attendant had taken her card with him instead of giving it back to her.
Being aware of this kind of fraud, she cancelled her bankcard that same day to be safe. South African Fraud Prevention Service has some helpful advice to reducing the chances of becoming a victim of fraud.
“Always remain attentive at ATMs and ensure that no one is attempting to gain access to your pin number while using an ATM. Make sure all your accounts have strong passwords that are not easy to decipher. Be very selective with the type of information that you share on social media sites and make use of privacy settings.”
For more information visit their website.
To report a case of fraud in Emalahleni contact Witbank SAPS on 013 655 5082.
