A woman was scammed at an ATM on Wick Street in the Verulam CBD, KwaZulu-Natal, on Sunday after two men posing as helpful bystanders made off with her bank card and withdrew money from her account.
According to Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA), the woman had been sent by her mother to withdraw cash when she noticed the two suspects loitering near the machines. One man pretended to be using the ATM, and when she attempted to use a second terminal, he claimed it was faulty and instructed her to use the one he was standing at.
As she inserted her card, the man grabbed it under the pretext of assisting her, tapped it on the machine, and told her to enter her PIN. When she asked for privacy, both men fled.
Her card failed to eject, and attempts to cancel the transaction were unsuccessful. Moments later, her mother received a notification that R1 300 had been withdrawn from the account. The family immediately moved to block the card.
Authorities are urging the public to remain vigilant, warning that ATM scams of this nature are increasing in the area.