Cheshire Police have launched a new operation to target cashpoint criminals.
It follows a series of incidents at cash machines across Crewe and Nantwich, as well as Northwich, Chester, Winsford and Sandbach.
Crooks are targeting cash machines positioned outside post offices, convenience stores and other outlets.
Officers leading Cheshire Police’s Economic Crime Unit have launched Operation Astoria to focus on all crime related to ATMs.
Tactics being used by fraudster include card skimming, card entrapment and cash trapping.
Card skimming uses video recording by mobile phone to capture pin numbers of innocent ATM users.
Adapted phones are hidden above the pin number area with a false mouth piece attached which will read and copy details on the magnetic strip of the card. These can be copied and transferred on to a new card.
Card entrapment uses adapted mobile phones to record pin numbers typed in and will use a device to trap the victim’s card once it has been placed into the machine.
The fraudster will recover the original card and pin number and is then ready to use the card.
Cash trapping is a device over the area where money is released which traps the cash, making the victim believe the machine has a problem. The fraudster will then collect the device and the money collected.
Det Con Tony Condon, of the Economic Crime Unit, said: “There have been an increasing number of attacks on ATMs across Cheshire, where the fraudsters are using all three methods to obtain money from innocent victims.
“ATM users do not know they are victims until they realise their account balance has reduced more than normal.
“Organised crime groups are responsible for the attacks and are of Eastern European origin.
“Be vigilant when using a cash machine and be aware of any suspicious activity around cashpoints, which may be an attempt to deploy a device.”
Contact Cheshire Police on 101 or visit our fraud page at www.cheshire.police.uk
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