By Staff Reporter
TZANEEN-A woman has been allegedly robbed after accepting help from a man at an Absa ATM Sasol R71 in Tzaneen on Thursday morning.
The CCTV footage is showing a woman who is accosted and unknowingly robbed at an underhanded manoeuvre by two men.
The first man interrupts the woman while she is making a transaction. He starts forcefully pressing on the ATM screen and the woman walks off.
The complainant, who could not be named, said the two men advised her to insert her bank card back into the ATM machine and enter her Pin as she needed to cancel her transaction before departing.
The victim inserted her card into the machine, but after entering her PIN she was surprised by the message on the screen telling her that the PIN she had entered was incorrect. She thought it was strange and when she wanted to cancel the request they walked closer.
Tzaneen Police have issued safety tips to anyone who makes cash withdrawals at an ATM machine:
- Be alert and conscious of your surroundings when using the ATM
- Never give your card or Pin ( personal identification number) to anyone, for any reason
- Don’t write your Pin on the card or anything that is kept with the card
- Do not insert your card until asked to do so by the display screen
- Never use an ATM with a blank screen and, if the ATM is obscured from view or poorly lit, leave immediately and find another ATM
- Stand close to the ATM and use your body and hand as a shield to make sure nobody sees you keying in your Pin
- Make sure you keep your hand over the card slot to make sure nobody can swop or take your card
- Never accept help from strangers when using an ATM. You should be wary of strangers asking for help
- Criminals work in teams – one to distract you while the other steals your card or money
- If your card is retained (swallowed) by the ATM, it is advisable to phone your bank’ s toll-free stop-card line immediately and stop your card
- Never allow a bystander to call the toll-free stop-card line on your behalf – they could be tricking you into thinking your card has been stopped
- Guards are placed at ATMs to discourage criminal activities and therefore cannot help you with transactions
- It is advisable to set a daily ATM withdrawal limit at your branch
- If you need help, ask a bank official.
