Clever new ATM scam to be aware of
The suspect managed to get the tourist's PIN by looking over his shoulder when he performed the transaction.
Local ATM scammers have thought of yet another clever way to con foreign tourists. On April 26 foreign tourists fell victim to such a scam at a filling station in Hazyview.
They pulled in at the garage, where a suspect in an orange and yellow reflector vest directed them towards an open pump bay. He then told the customer that he should go to the ATM on site to pay for the fuel, even before the fuel attendant had approached the vehicle.
At the ATM inside the building, the suspect managed to get the tourist’s PIN by looking over his shoulder when he performed the transaction.
Back at the vehicle he grabbed the tourist’s card and sped off with his accomplices in a white Kia Rio with only a temporary registration permit in the rear window and no number plates.
Within minutes, the card was used in five transactions at destinations between Hazyview and Johannesburg.
Les Hibbert of Spesplan Security in town, who investigated the incident, said no arrests have been made but the incident is connected to a symdicate operating out of Gauteng.
He warned motorists to be aware of this new type of scam and always be vigilant when strangers offer help with matters where money is involved.
