On March 25, the woman residing in Ga-Nala withdrew an amount of R350 from an ATM at a petrol station. The following day she swiped her card at a grocery store for about R100.
“Thursday evening I received three notifications one after the other, R2 000, R 2 000, then R1 000 had been withdrawn from my account,” said the woman, shocked.
She immediately checked her purse and found the card.
“It was then I realised my card had been cloned and immediately contacted the fraud line,” the woman continued.
She phoned ABSA fraud line and was told to get in touch with Card Stop, which she did.
“I stopped all my accounts, even my credit card, afraid they might be able to gain access to it,” added the woman.
That Friday morning the woman went to the nearest ABSA branch where she explained what had happened and was issued a new cheque card.
“I had to resort to my credit card to get by for the month,” explains the woman.
She also filled out a claims form at the bank and was given positive news that the claim would most likely take 20 days to process, restoring her stolen funds.
Kriel police advise the public to always be aware of their surroundings and to keep an eye on their card when swiping it via a pay point. They also caution the public to ensure that when they draw money from an ATM that there isn’t a skimming device in place.
