Warning as thief cons man out of £3,000 at ATM

HE TOLD HIS VICTIM THERE WAS A FAULT WITH STORE’S CASH MACHINE

POLICE have issued an alert after a bank customer lost £3,000 to a cash machine thief.

The victim was targeted as he used an ATM at Tesco, in Park Road, Shelthorpe, in Loughborough, last week.

After the machine kept his card, he was approached by a man who told him there was a fault with the machine.

The suspect offered “advice” on how to retrieve the card and was typing on his mobile phone throughout the encounter, police said. The victim later realised the money was missing from his account.

Police are investigating theft, which happened about 4pm on Thursday last week, and have urged people to be aware of their surroundings when using cash machines.

Sergeant Chris Wharton, of Charnwood police, said: “Please be aware of a scam that was completed when a customer of an ATM at Tesco, who had requested to withdraw cash, neither got the cash nor their card back from the machine.

“A male wearing a mask and a hooded jacket then approached the customer and stated there was an issue with the machine and he had to enter another of his cards in order to get his original card out.

“The customer did this and lost that card too.

“The male who gave the ‘advice’ was constantly tapping on his phone while the customer was entering his cards to the machine.

“Shortly afterwards cash amounts had been withdrawn from the accounts fraudulently.

“The victims had £3,000 in cash taken from their accounts over a period of approximately 20 minutes.

“Please note the matter is being investigated and if you have any issues please refer to your own bank fraud departments.

“If you see any suspicious behaviour or persons, then please call the police on 101 to report the matter.”

Other police advice when using cash machines includes:

Beware of strangers who talk to you or stand very close to you.

If in doubt, withdraw your card and leave.

Ensure nobody can see you input your PIN.