Automatic banking is unsafe in Paarl
2006-07-06
WHEN leaving your home to do business in Paarl’s central business area, you must keep in mind that the chance of being robbed is a reality.
If you walk down Lady Grey Street on Saturday mid-morning, there is no time to relax. Rather be alert at all times - look behind and around you.
I was robbed on Saturday morning at First National Bank’s automatic cash machines. The R1000 was not the end of the world. What worries me is the way it was done.
The method was so professional and the response of the bank officials was that this was a normal incident.
There is no security guard at FNB’s autobank in Upper Lady Grey Street, hidden at the side of the premises out of sight of the normal flow of pedestrians. This makes it an easy target for robbers.
I should have known there was something amiss when a member of the public urged me to use a specific machine.
When my transaction misfired and my card did not reappear when I pressed ‘Cancel’, I was happy when two women who work in the bank, came out to assist me.
They said this kind of crime happened all the time, and told me to follow them into the bank so that they could stop my card.
By the time the bank employee had activated the computer system to stop withdrawals from my account, the maximum amount had already been drawn from an auto teller at a nearby bank.
The thief must have tampered with the machine, causing my card to get stuck.
The moment I left the machine with the bank employees, he must have retrieved the card and run to another cash machine.
A security guard (or bank employee) on duty outside the bank would have meant my card remained safe, and will perhaps keep other bank clients safe in future.
Just another victim
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