WEST Mercia Police are urging members of the public to be on their guard for cash machine skimming devices.
Officers are aware of a device which sees fraudsters insert devices into a bank machines card slot.
As the ATM ejects the card, a ‘lip’ at the end of the loop stops the card from coming out.
The machine draws the card back in, leaving the victim to believe their car has been retained.
The fraudsters will either place a small recording device nearby, either on adjoining walls or on the actual machine to record the customer inputting their PIN number – or they will appear in person and offer to help, watching the person as they re-type their PIN.
Quite often the victim walks away assuming their card has been retained – leaving the fraudsters free to recover it and, using the PIN they have just memorized or recorded, withdraw as much money as they can.
Police are reminding anyone taking cash out at a cash machine to make sure nothing looks out of place on it and to ensure they shield the keypad when they enter their PIN.
Anyone concerned about a skimming device on a cash machine outside a bank should report this to staff inside the branch if it is open, alternatively ring West Mercia Police on 101.
