Warning over the cashpoint card-swap swindlers

THE elderly and pregnant women are being targeted in a new wave of cash machine swindles, banks have warned.

Victims are distracted by one fraudster for a few seconds as they withdraw money, while another criminal grabs their debit card and swaps it with a fake.

Having spied on the victim as they entered their PIN number, the fraudsters are then able to drain the account of cash.

Experts are warning customers to be on their guard after a 93-year-old man in Grantham, Lincolnshire, was defrauded of £23,000. Barclays has released a video to explain how the scam works.

The film shows a man waiting at a cash point while a woman stands behind him.

She watches as he enters his PIN and then deliberately drops some coins. The customer bends down to help her pick them up and, while his back is turned, another criminal standing at the nextdoor terminal swaps his card for a fake.

The unwitting victim then turns around, collects his cash and the card and leaves – completely oblivious to the fact that his card has been stolen and his bank account will soon have no money in it.

Banks say criminals are targeting older customers, pregnant women and those with young children who might be less agile and alert while they are being distracted.

Barclays said it put out the video to warn customers after fraud at cash machines rose by a fifth to £32.7million in the past year.

A spokesman for industry body Financial Fraud Action UK said: ‘These distraction scams can be really hard to spot. You need to be very careful when you’re at the cash point.

‘Don’t get tempted to turn around and leave your card unguarded. And always shield your PIN from prying eyes.’

Gordon Urquhart, 66, told the Mail that he had £300 swiped from his Santander current account after being distracted by a pair of Romanian scammers. Mr Urquhart was withdrawing money in Keighley, West Yorkshire, last month when he was interrupted by a man and woman.

The pair kept insisting the machine was out of order and that he should try the machine inside the Santander branch.

He asked to be left in peace, but they refused. Amid the commotion, one of the thieves managed to withdraw the cash.

Tony Blake, of Financial Fraud Action UK, said: ‘Put your personal safety first if someone approaches you, even if they appear to be a well-meaning stranger.’