A 23-year-old Tanzanian woman suspected of stealing money from bank users after illegally obtaining their ATM cards has been arrested by the police.
The suspect identified as Halima Juma was arrested on Tuesday November 16, after a bank teller got quite suspicious after she used different cards of the same bank to withdraw money from one ATM machine. The teller alerted the security that she was “up to no good”.
Halima who tried escaping upon being busted was found to be in possession of 23 ATM cards which was hidden in her private part.
“On October 25, 2019, one Ernest Mika Sakala, a retired senior soldier in Tanzania, reported at the Mbagala Maturubai Police Station that on October 23, at around 4pm, a woman, unknown to him, exchanged his ATM card of CRDB Bank with another of the same bank. When Sakala went to withdraw money from an ATM machine in Dar Live Mbagala Zakhem branch on October 25, he discovered that the ATM he was in possession of was not his. When he inquired from CRDB Bank in Mbagala on the same day, he discovered that Tsh10 million (Ksh442, 000) had been withdrawn from his bank account between October 23 and October 25,” Dar es Salaam regional police boss, Lazaro Mambosasa said.
“Records showed that the monies were withdrawn from three tellers in different banks. The said-tellers have since been arrested for questioning,” Mambosasa added.
K24TV reported that Halima confessed to being part of an ATM Cards-theft syndicate that withdraw users’ money after obtaining the cards through dishonest means.
“She said they have been targeting the elderly rich-but-illiterate men and women, and pretend to help them withdraw money from ATM machines. She said they usually ask the users for their PIN numbers, and once they reveal the information, they lie to them that the ATM card has been ‘swallowed’, and so they should report to their respective banks the following day. They, thereafter, go to another ATM machine and withdraw the monies.
“The other method they are employing is standing next to a user who has just withdrawn money via a teller. So, when the client has received his money, and is in the process of either counting or loading them into an envelope, they exchange his or her ATM card with another one. Of course, you know many a times, when one is counting money, the last thing they would pick from the counter is the ATM card and the identity card,” said Mambosasa.
