ATM fraud: Saudi duped of SR290,000

Two young men have stolen SR290,000 from a woman’s account in a scam operated at an ATM, said a media report. Muhammad Al-Aqeeli, the father of the woman, said he had withdrawn money using her ATM card in Al-Mahjar Street in Jeddah. He claimed that two young men approached him as he was leaving and said that he had forgotten his card in the machine.
“I escorted him back to the ATM, and saw the other man was waiting for me next to the machine with an ATM card similar to that of my daughter’s in his hand,” he said. “He told me he had removed the card from the machine, and suggested I re-enter it to check that my account transactions were closed.”
Al-Aqeeli said he did not think to check whether his daughter’s card was in his wallet, or the name on the card held by the man. The following evening, he said his daughter informed him that she had received SMSs from her bank indicating the withdrawal of large sums from her account within a few hours.
“We realized more than SR290,000 were withdrawn and transferred from her account, and several purchases made at various locations.” Al-Aqeeli. said he filed complaints with the police, the bank, and the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, and were waiting for feedback.
Atti Al-Qurashi, spokesman of the police department in Makkah, said the authorities had previously dealt with similar cases. The case is being probed, he said.