Late in the afternoon yesterday, the Saanich Police Department received a call from a male who advised that he had inadvertently taken $200 cash from a bank machine, not realizing that he had accessed the account of another client. The male, after returning to his home, pulled out the cash and the debit card. It was then that he realised that he had two bank cards in his possession.
After confirming through on-line banking that the $200 had not been withdrawn from his account, the 46 year old male made attempts to contact the bank. After waiting for several minutes on hold, the male decided to contact police to report his “find”.
The Public Service Representative at Saanich Police took the male’s information and instructed him to return the cash to the front desk of the Saanich Police Department. The bank was contacted and the personal information for the other bank client was obtained.
It was determined that another bank client had been at a service wicket at the bank prior to going to the bank machine to confirm that the card worked. The client mistakenly left the card in the machine when he was called back to the teller for a receipt.
The $200 was turned in to police, and the 36 year old, who was missing the cash, attended and had the money returned to him. Despite being offered a reward, the person that “found” the cash declined to accept any reward.
“The individual had stated that he had enough of his own money, and that he didn’t need to take this money from another person” Sgt. Steve Eassie said. “This was accidental, and in essence the male found the money. He did the right thing by turning in the entire amount after realising what had transpired”.
File 2014-11144
Sgt. Steve Eassie #158