Senior citizen scammed at east ATM
A man in his 80s was allegedly defrauded of more than R75 000 by a person who offered to help him at an ATM in the east of Pretoria.
Pensioners in the east of Pretoria have been tormented by fraudsters disguised as harmless people offering “help” at ATMs only to steal large sums of their money.
Garsfontein police spokesperson Warrant-Officer Duane Lightfoot said there was a spike in cases of elderly people falling victim to banking fraud and theft.
In a recent case, a man in his 80s was allegedly defrauded of more than R75 000 by a person who offered to help him at an ATM in the east of Pretoria. The case was still being investigated, said Lightfoot.
“He was trying to withdraw money and was approached by an unknown man claiming the machine was faulty and that he should rather go to the next machine.
“He even offered to help the old man. The machine then refused to release the card as it was probably tampered with by the suspect.”
Lightfoot said this was a typical method that the criminals used to steal from their victims.
“It is often during this action of pretending to help that the unsuspecting victim’s card is exchanged or stolen.
“Money is then withdrawn from their accounts or fraudulent payments are made on the internet.”
Lightfoot warned this kind of crime was likely to increase this festive season.
“In an endeavour to curb this trend, police members at Garsfontein are increasingly patrolling shopping malls where ATMs are situated to intensify visibility.”
We urge the community to be vigilant when going to ATMs, Lightfoot said.
The Garsfontein police provided the following safety tips:
– Do not accept any help from strangers, rather ask for assistance from a bank official.
– Try by all means to use machines that are inside shopping centres where security guards are often placed.
– Before putting your card back into your wallet or purse, make sure it is indeed yours.
– If you are a senior citizen, bring a young adult you trust when you go banking.
– Make sure you have the bank telephone number to call and immediately block your card the moment you discover you have been scammed. This number is normally displayed somewhere on or close to the ATM.
– Notify your bank about the incident as soon as possible.
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