- A pensioner recently became the latest v*ictim of a card s*camming syndicate
- She was def*rauded of R36 000
- Three s*uspects have been a*rrested.
A 71-year-old gogo has become the latest v*ictim of a s*camming syndicate operating in the Eastern Cape.
The pensioner, who is the widow of a prominent local lawyer, was r*obbed of R36 000. The i*ncident happened after an interaction at a Nahoon Beach Road Spar ATM and was captured on CCTV security cameras. In the footage, a man is seen pretending to assist her before muscling himself in while she was typing her details. She thought the ATM swallowed the card andthe man, who pretended to be a Good Samaritan was nowhere to be found.
Although her card was swallowed by the machine, her bank account later reflected that a large sum of money was gone. Describing her ordeal, the pensioner said: “I was bullied by that man at the ATM; he kept harassing me." The video footage of the i*ncident has gone viral on social media, however, the woman requested not to be named, fearing syndicate members could track her down. The p*olice were quick to respond and managed to a*rrest three s*uspects later on the same day. The individuals, aged between 33 and 35, were a*rrested in a parking lot of a local shopping complex. Cambridge p*olice station commander Brigadier Pumla Mdlankomo said Tuesday’s a*rrests had “broken the backbone of the syndicate”.
It is believed that the syndicate used sophisticated machinery to capture card information, including pin numbers being p*unched into ATMs, and relay it via routers to laptops being operated by crooks sitting in rented cars nearby.