Knutsford residents urged to be vigilant over cash point scams (From Knutsford Guardian)

Knutsford residents urged to be vigilant over cash point scams

5:10pm Sunday 10th March 2013 in News

KNUTSFORD residents are being warned to be on their guard following a series of cash point scams.

Fraudsters are targeting hole-in-the-wall ATMs outside post offices and convenience stores across Cheshire.

In response, Operation Astoria has been put in place by Cheshire Police to crack down the criminals.

There were two ATM distraction thefts in Knutsford and Wilmslow on February 6.

Things to look out for before you punch in your pin: l Card skimming – The use of the video recording on mobile telephones to capture pin numbers of innocent ATM users. These specially-adapted mobile phones are usually hidden above the pin number area.

The con artist will also attach a false mouthpiece which will read and copy details on the card’s magnetic strip.

• Card entrapment – A device is used to trap the victim’s card once it has been placed into the machine.

The victim believes the card has been retained by the cash machine due to a problem, and the fraudster will recover the original card and the pin number.

• Cash trapping – The criminal will place a device over the area where the money is released from the cash machine. The device traps the money, making the victim believe the machine has a problem and is not releasing any funds.

The culprit will then collect the device and the money collected.

Det Con Tony Condon said: “Our intelligence suggests organised crime groups are responsible for the attacks, and are of Eastern European origin. “We are asking the public to be vigilant when using a cash machine and to be aware of any suspicious activity around cash points, which may be an attempt to deploy a device.”