A 29-year-old man from KwaMashu in Durban has been arrested in the KwaDukuza area near Stanger for alleged bank card fraud and will appear in the KwaDukuza Magistrate’s Court on Monday, KwaZulu-Natal police said.
The man was arrested by KwaDukuza police who followed up information that he allegedly jammed his victim’s bank card in an ATM. The man then withdrew R5000 from the victim’s account, Lt-Col Thulani Zwane said said on Saturday.
The victim was withdrawing cash at an ATM in a shop in KwaDukuza at about 7.30am on Friday when he was approached by the suspect who offered to help. The victim accepted the offer, only to find his card had been jammed in the ATM.
“The victim walked away and the suspect later withdrew cash from the victim’s account. When the victim received an SMS about withdrawals, he immediately contacted the police and proceeded to the same ATM that he was using.”
A description of the suspect was given to the police and he was found at the ATM. When the suspect saw the police officers, he ran to his car and attempted to drive off, but the officers stopped him few metres away. His car was searched and a card believed to have been used to block ATM machines was found in his possession. The suspect was arrested and charged with fraud, Zwane said.
KwaZulu-Natal acting provincial commissioner Maj-Gen Bheki Langa praised the officers for their quick reaction which had led to the arrest of the suspect.
“Our detectives will work hard to try and see if he is not involved in any other card skimming or bank card-related fraud. I appeal to credit card holders to take extra precautions when using their cards at any ATM during this festive season. Make sure that no one distract you while at the ATM and avoid asking for help from unknown people,” he said.
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