A 33-year-old man will appear in a Mpumalanga court on Friday after he was arrested by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, also known as the Hawks, on charges of counterfeit bank card fraud.
Hawks spokesperson in Mpumalanga, Warrant Officer Thandi Tshabalala said the fraud accused man was arrested on Wednesday by the Middelburg-based serious commercial crime investigation unit.
“It is alleged that, a First National Bank (FNB) investigator discovered fraudulent transactions at the fuel station situated in Bethal Road outside Middelburg. Diesel refuelling payments were made utilising fraudulent bank cards, as a result, the bank suffered an actual loss of up to R1.5 million,” said Tshabalala.
The probing FNB investigator engaged with the particular fuel station owner.
“While the investigator was busy interviewing the owner, the suspected person arrived. The investigator immediately contacted one member from (Hawks) Middelburg serious commercial crime investigation. The member responded swiftly and mobilised more members for assistance,” said Tshabalala.
The suspect and his vehicle were thoroughly searched, and several bank cards were found.
The cards were checked and it was discovered that three of them were counterfeit. The suspect was then arrested.
“The accused is expected to appear before the Middelburg District Court on Friday,” said Tshabalala.
Earlier this year, IOL reported that a 32-year-old Swati national, working as a petrol attendant in Mpumalanga, was arrested by the Hawks Middelburg-based serious commercial crime investigation unit at Ultra City N4 filling station in Middelburg for contravention of the Cybercrime Act.
At the time, Captain Dineo Lucy Sekgotodi said it was alleged that during an internal audit, Absa and FNB bank card investigators had suspicion that there was a card skimming device amongst the petrol attendants at the filling station.
“Information was escalated to the Hawks for further investigation and it was operationalised. The team comprising of the Hawks and bank investigators conducted a search and seizure operation,” said Sekgotodi.
“During the search, the suspect who was on duty, was found in possession of the skimming device.”
The 32-year-old was then arrested and detained.
IOL News