i’Langa is hot spot for card cloning

Two male suspects who allegedly pretended to be police officials and offered “help” to customers at ATMs, are still at large. They are suspected of cloning bank cards and emptying accounts.

According to Mr Jacques Meiring of Bossies Community Justice (BCJ), Mbombela has been rather quiet when it comes to card cloning, but there is still some activity.

“We had an incident on Friday where two men, one heavyset with cataracts in one eye, and the other tall and skinny, pretended to be policemen wanting to help bank customers withdraw money at an ATM at I’langa Mall.

“The customer declined and they retreated to their vehicle. The man drove to Cash Crusaders in town, followed by the suspects. They then ordered him to get into their vehicle.

“The man refused and a verbal dispute followed, after which the two left.”

Meiring urges residents to be wary of people in police uniform offering assistance at ATMs.

Earlier this month, Standard Bank fully reimbursed a victim of card cloning after it reclaimed the copied bank card.

Ms Nadine Nel paid for her groceries at Pick n Pay in I’langa Mall by swiping her card on October 2.

The full amount has been repaid after an internal investigation led to the apprehension of the culprit in Midrand, Johannesburg.

The suspect used the card once in Roodepoort, where the signal was picked up, and it was obtained after the suspect tried to use it a second time in Midrand.

“I had no idea that money was being withdrawn from my account until I had to check a payment the following day.

“Only then did I see I only had R140 left,” Nel said.

She has a daily limit of

R3 000 on her card, but the culprit made off with considerably more than that.

“It makes me question

the function and security

of the limit.”

According to Standard Bank spokesman, Mr Ross Linstrom, “the bank’s business ends at 19:00, except for Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, which means any transaction done after 19:00 will reflect on the client’s bank statement of the next day, thus making it seem like the transactions were done on the same day”. He says it is impossible for anyone to exceed their daily limit.

After investigations, Nel returned to Pick n Pay to inform it of the possible fraudulent activities, without success.

“The manager just shrugged his shoulders.

“Apparently it happens all the time,” said Nel.

Another victim, who is also a Standard Bank client and wishes to remain anonymous due to ongoing investigations, lost R10 000, even with a daily limit of R2 000.

“I believe the bank is involved. Neither the police nor the bank wanted me to identify the suspect by means of a facial composite sketch, leading me to believe they are hiding something.” But Linstrom denies this possibility. “Bank personnel do not have any access to the client’s personal identification (PIN) number, and thus cannot be involved in the fraudulent activity,” says Linstrom. “Such allegations will be investigated and, if necessary, the staff member will be subjected to a polygraph test.”

The victim has not yet been reimbursed and is in the process of changing to another bank.

Linstrom maintains that the bank “cannot be held accountable if clients disclose their personal banking details to criminals”.

He says the bank will, however, accept responsibility if it was negligent, like not stopping a card when the client reported it stolen, missing or damaged.