Sophisticated ATM crooks prompt ‘Stash it‚ don’t flash it’ campaign

ATM fraudsters in Cape Town’s CBD are more “sophisticated than the standard‚ pushy one-person approach of ‘let me help you draw money’ ”

They are “sophisticated” and “well-dressed”‚ “operate in four- to six-man teams and are not afraid to threaten security guards at ATMs with bodily harm if they interfere with their scams”‚ said Muneeb Hendricks.

“Thankfully‚ so far‚ nobody has been injured within the CBD‚ but it is a potential threat no security operation can discount‚” added Hendriks‚ the safety and security manager of the Cape Town Central City Improvement District (CCID).

Part of the modus operandi‚ he said‚ is that “these guys almost always have cash in their hands so that they look like they’ve just drawn money”.

“One of the common tactics is for the syndicate member who has ostensibly just drawn money and is holding cash to ‘accidentally’ drop a high-value bank note on the floor to distract you during your ATM transaction‚ and when your attention is diverted‚ another member steals your card outright or switches it‚” he elaborated.

“Then once they have your card and PIN they tend to leave the area‚ get into their waiting vehicle – our investigations have found these are often hired cars — and speed off.”

Hendriks the matter is being taken so seriously that the CCID has engaged with the South African Banking Risk Information Centre and banks “to voice our concern”.

 “We’ve also been engaging with SAPS and Cape Town Tourism‚ the latter in particular to establish effective public awareness campaigns. As the CCID‚ we ourselves made ATM fraud a key focus in our recent festive season ‘Stash it‚ don’t flash it’ campaign‚” he added.