Although cash is king‚ this could lead to one losing one’s life.
This is the warning from the South African Banking Risk Information Centre (SABRIC)‚ which has expressed concern at the loss of life of bank clients who fall victim to cash robberies.
Since 2015 and 2016 year to date‚ SABRIC says it has recorded 10 murders and 35 injuries of victims which resulted from such robberies.
As the country is nearing the festive season‚ SABRIC warned the public to be even more aware of carrying large amounts of cash as criminals would view this time as a bonus period with greater opportunities for them.
SABRIC CEO Kalyan Pillay said the victim of these robberies‚ better known as “bank associated robbery” or “bank followings”‚ was the bank client.
She said this crime was not only perpetrated in all the major cities but had also manifested itself in the country’s rural towns.
The provinces with the highest incident rate are Gauteng followed by Kwazulu-Natal‚ Western Cape‚ Eastern Cape and North West‚ Mpumalanga‚ Limpopo‚ Free State and the Northern Cape.
Pillay said these criminals were now also targeting business owners who visited the bank to either deposit or withdraw large amounts of cash.
She said this year to date‚ 31% of the incidents were attributed to robbery before deposit and 63% of the incidents occurred after a withdrawal. The remainder related to incidents at ATM’s and where clients were scammed by criminals after a cash withdrawal.
Perpetrators operate in groups and even travel between provinces and cities to commit these crimes.
Individuals referred to as “spotters” enter the bank purporting to be clients and even queue to give the impression that they are bank clients. Spotters can be anyone young or old‚ male or female.
Their main purpose was to identify a victim who had made a cash withdrawal.
The spotters give their accomplices the description of the victim‚ who is usually followed to a suitable place where she or he will be robbed of the cash in their possession.
SABRIC has recorded 87 associated robbery related arrests for 2015 and 27 for 2016 so far.
Pillay urged bank customers‚ small to medium business owners and stokvel groupings to consider changing their banking practices by utilising alternative banking methods such as internet banking and ATM transfers as opposed to carrying large amounts of cash.
She also advised people to consider paying their accounts electronically and to alternate the days and times on which they deposited cash.
She also advised employers to refrain from giving wages to contract or casual labourers in full view of the public.
Pillay said a stokvel savings club or burial society could arrange for members to deposit cash directly into the club’s account instead of collecting cash contributions.
The end-of-year club account payments could be electronically transferred into each club member’s personal account.
The Ombudsman for Banking Services also warned the public to be aware and be safe.
“Carry as little cash as possible at all times‚” it said in a Facebook post.
10 people killed and 35 injured after banking with large sums of cash
Although cash is king‚ this could lead to one losing one’s life.
This is the warning from the South African Banking Risk Information Centre (SABRIC)‚ which has expressed concern at the loss of life of bank clients who fall victim to cash robberies.
Since 2015 and 2016 year to date‚ SABRIC says it has recorded 10 murders and 35 injuries of victims which resulted from such robberies.
As the country is nearing the festive season‚ SABRIC warned the public to be even more aware of carrying large amounts of cash as criminals would view this time as a bonus period with greater opportunities for them.
SABRIC CEO Kalyan Pillay said the victim of these robberies‚ better known as “bank associated robbery” or “bank followings”‚ was the bank client.
She said this crime was not only perpetrated in all the major cities but had also manifested itself in the country’s rural towns.
The provinces with the highest incident rate are Gauteng followed by Kwazulu-Natal‚ Western Cape‚ Eastern Cape and North West‚ Mpumalanga‚ Limpopo‚ Free State and the Northern Cape.
Pillay said these criminals were now also targeting business owners who visited the bank to either deposit or withdraw large amounts of cash.
She said this year to date‚ 31% of the incidents were attributed to robbery before deposit and 63% of the incidents occurred after a withdrawal. The remainder related to incidents at ATM’s and where clients were scammed by criminals after a cash withdrawal.
Perpetrators operate in groups and even travel between provinces and cities to commit these crimes.
Individuals referred to as “spotters” enter the bank purporting to be clients and even queue to give the impression that they are bank clients. Spotters can be anyone young or old‚ male or female.
Their main purpose was to identify a victim who had made a cash withdrawal.
The spotters give their accomplices the description of the victim‚ who is usually followed to a suitable place where she or he will be robbed of the cash in their possession.
SABRIC has recorded 87 associated robbery related arrests for 2015 and 27 for 2016 so far.
Pillay urged bank customers‚ small to medium business owners and stokvel groupings to consider changing their banking practices by utilising alternative banking methods such as internet banking and ATM transfers as opposed to carrying large amounts of cash.
She also advised people to consider paying their accounts electronically and to alternate the days and times on which they deposited cash.
She also advised employers to refrain from giving wages to contract or casual labourers in full view of the public.
Pillay said a stokvel savings club or burial society could arrange for members to deposit cash directly into the club’s account instead of collecting cash contributions.
The end-of-year club account payments could be electronically transferred into each club member’s personal account.
The Ombudsman for Banking Services also warned the public to be aware and be safe.
“Carry as little cash as possible at all times‚” it said in a Facebook post.
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