East London - Eastern Cape police are urging people who need to make a withdrawal from an ATM this festive season to be on the lookout for possible bank card thieves.
East London police spokesperson Lt-Col Mtati Tana said the arrest of a 33-year-old suspect this week was part of an ongoing investigation into the increase in reported ATM bank card thefts.
"The suspect was arrested by crime prevention after two cases were opened in a space of two days in the East London CBD. We believe he might be involved in other cases and urge anyone who has been the victim of a bank card theft to come forward," said Tana.
Lonwabo Nkonki, who witnessed a robbery in the East London CBD last week, said he saw a well-dressed man pretending to help a pensioner withdraw money. Minutes later the man disappeared and the pensioner was left holding a fake bank card.
"I never thought he could be a conman. He was dressed formally and looked very respectable," said Nkonki.
Tana said the ATM card thieves pretend to help the victim, quickly swap their card with a fake one and disappear after the victim has typed in his or her PIN code.
"This happened to a 77-year-old man who reported a case of fraud on Wednesday. The thief then went on a R3 000 shopping spree in town, buying goods from different shops," said Tana.
He said police arrested the 33-year-old man in connection with the case in the early hours of Tuesday morning. He will appear in the East London magistrate's court on Friday charged with theft.
Justmoney.co.za advises people using ATMs to follow a few simple guidelines:
* Make sure your PIN is something that is not obvious
* Memorise your PIN, do not write it down
* If you spot any suspicious looking characters nearby, leave or approach security
* If the ATM is giving you trouble or you feel that it is not working like it should, cancel your transaction immediately and try another ATM
* Make sure nobody is watching you put in your PIN on the keypad
* If you need help, do not ask strangers or security guards for help. Ask a bank official. If your card is stuck, do not accept help from strangers
* If it looks like the card slot has been tampered with, do not use the ATM
* Make sure you get your card back whenever you are done with a transaction. Make sure it's your card with your details and somebody hasn't swapped your card.
* If your card is lost, stolen or jammed into a machine, make sure you contact your bank immediately.
