DURBAN North police have warned restaurant owners to be vigilant after a speed point card machine was stolen from an uMhlanga restaurant.

In 2020, there had been a spike with several cases reported in the Durban North and uMhlanga areas.

While only one case of theft has been opened recently, Captain Raymond Deokaran, spokesperson for the station, is concerned criminals with fraudulent intentions will target establishments.

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“Because each speed point machine has a record of all transactions on them, we believe the criminals involved attempt to block all card payments on the machine and divert them to a cloned account, thus defrauding and hurting the business they’ve stolen from.

“Often the thieves use subtlety but in some cases at service stations, the suspects pretend to pay for petrol or food and flee the area. In one case, a speed point machine was replaced by an identical, but non-functioning machine,” he said.

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