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Tuesday 15 March 2011
Tel: 021 713 9440 Fax: 021 713 9481
Lack of cameras hampers investigation
ATM security under spotlight DALEEN FOUCHÉ
T
HE lack of security cameras at an ATM has left a customer and the police with very little chance of identifying a thief who stole R5 000 from her account. Juliet Gomersall, a Noordhoek resident, says she lost R5 000 from her account after she paid beneficiaries at a Standard Bank ATM on Friday 4 March. Standard Bank was criticised last year for not installing security cameras after several thefts at a Standard Bank ATM in Fish Hoek (“Security guards arrested for ATM theft in CBD”, People’s Post, 29 July 2010). Gomersall made two transactions at the Standard Bank ATM outside the Standard Bank in Longbeach Mall, on Friday 4 March. Gomersall says she remembers a man who “smelled of alcohol” standing behind her with a child. She says although the man made her “nervous”, she proceeded with her transaction. Gomersall paid two beneficiaries with her husband’s card from their joint account, received her transaction slip and left to do her shopping. When she wanted to pay, she realised her husband’s card, which she had used earlier at the ATM, was missing. She rushed back to the ATM, but found that the card was gone. Gomersall says she cannot remember whether she had left her card in the ATM. “I honestly do not know what happened.” She immediately cancelled her
card and opened a case at the Fish Hoek police station, but by then R5 000 had already been withdrawn from the account. “I feel like it is all my fault; I feel like a fool,” she says. But the incident, says Gomersall, could have been more easily investigated, and the perpetrator identified, had the Standard Bank ATMs in the mall had security cameras. She said that when one deposits money or pays a beneficiary at a Standard Bank ATM, the transaction slip comes out before the bank card, giving a mistaken cue that the transaction is closed. Fiona Purvis, a Fish Hoek resident, says the same thing happened to her at a Standard Bank ATM in Fish Hoek in July 2010. Purvis made a deposit into her account, received the slip and left while her card was still in the machine. Purvis says that two minutes after the deposit was made, R5 000 was withdrawn from her account. Two security guards were arrested in connection with the incident. Purvis says Standard Bank should have security cameras at their ATMs. “Security cameras are an important part of fighting crime,” she says. She explains that the security guards were arrested after footage from CCTV cameras, placed in the Fish Hoek CBD, showed the security guard entering the ATM after the complainant had left and then going around the corner. This footage led police to a “stash” of bank cards and the arrest of the two guards. Since the incident, Purvis has complained about the lack of cameras at Standard Bank and to the Banking Ombudsman, but with no success.
AU NATUREL: Cape Town was one of 50 sites around the world to participate in a cheeky protest against oil dependency and the car culture on Saturday March 12 by celebrating the bicycle and the power and individu ality of the human body. To symbolise the vulnerability of the cyclist in traffic, many cyclists were semiclad as they rode down the Fan Walk in Green Point. Photo: Nasief Manie/Foto 24 But Michelle Marsh, spokesperson for Standard Bank, says some of their banks do have security cameras. “Standard Bank decides on a case-by-case basis at which ATMs cameras are installed. This depends on many factors, including location, patterns in usage at the ATM and so on,” says Marsh. Marsh says that the order in which an ATM card, money and transaction slip are returned to a customer is based on “extensive customer research, and correlates with actual customer usage”. She says the way Standard Bank ATMs currently operate has resulted in a “substantial decrease” in ATM vandalism and crime. Marsh says ATM crime is often “opportunistic” and she encourages customers to be vigilant. “Always be on the lookout for criminals and never accept help from strangers, even if they say they are our employees.” “Accredited ATM assistants, who will be able to identify themselves
as such, will normally be on duty to assist you. Stand close to the ATM and use your hand and body as shields when entering your PIN so that other people cannot see it.” People’s Post endeavoured to find out what other banks are doing to ensure the safety and security of their ATMs. Pierre Loubser, managing executive for channels, sales and service at Absa, said he was not at liberty to disclose intimate details about ABSA’s security measures. “Doing so may compromise security at our service outlets.” However, Loubser says Absa takes the security of both its employees and customers seriously. “As a result of this we have invested immensely in security across our service networks, throughout the country, to ensure a safe banking experience.” Steve Higgins, spokesperson for FNB, says the bank has a certain number of security cameras which they circulate and move between various ATMs.
He says FNB uses this method because criminals target other ATMs as soon as they become aware of the cameras. Higgins says security cameras help, especially with criminal investigations. Higgins says FNB tries to inform their clients not to be distracted when making a transaction and to be aware of their surroundings. Warrant Officer Chris Cloete, spokesperson for Fish Hoek police, says security cameras help the police “immensely” in their investigations. He says police request a warrant to take footage from CCTV cameras, which is used to cross reference cases and is sent to other police stations. Cloete says many cases have been solved and suspects arrested due to CCTV footage. He adds that the footage helps to prosecute criminals in court. Cloete says police have, in the past, caught criminals after watching footage from security cameras at ABSA and FNB ATMs.
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