Detectives seek help to identify card skimmers

Detectives are appealing for information that may assist identifying two Eastern European men who may be involved in local bank card skimming fraud over the weekend.

Victoria Police fraud squad are currently investigating an Eastern European crime syndicate targeting banks around Victoria.

Baw Baw CIU detective senior constable Brett Miller said local detectives were investigating incidents in Warragul, Yarragon and Trafalgar that may be linked to similar incidents around the state.

Mr Miller said the offenders were using technology that harvests credit card or bank card data from automatic teller machines.

Baw Baw detectives have received information that two men of Eastern European descent, possibly Romanian or Bulgarian, have been in the Warragul, Yarragon and Trafalgar area on the weekend.

Detectives want to speak with any small business operator or accommodation services that may have had contact with people of this ethnic background in recent days.

Detectives said any residents who notice any irregularities on their bank statements should contact their bank to report the suspected fraud.

A Trafalgar woman said she would be more careful using ATMs after skimmers photocopied her card and used the details to withdraw money over the weekend.

Margie Matheson withdrew money from the ATM at Warragul’s Bendigo Bank on Friday about 4pm.

On Sunday morning Bendigo Bank contacted her to tell her they had cancelled her card because a “suspicious amount” of money had been withdrawn from her account at a Forest Hill ATM on Saturday.

When she called in to the bank yesterday she was told there were three different varieties of skimmer and merely covering the keypad when you key in your PIN number, as bank ATMs instruct, might not be enough to protect your account.

“I think people need to be aware of what to look for,” Ms Matheson said.

Ms Matheson was told Bendigo Bank would cover the theft from her account, but is concerned that all bank customers pay through increased fees to cover the losses.