Police warn of ATM fraudsters
ATM users are being targeted by fraudsters who con people into giving away their PIN numbers and cards, police warned yesterday.
A number of victims - mainly women - have been targeted by the scam in which fraudsters partially jam the card slots in ATMs and then wait for customers to use the machines.
When a customer inserts a card, it too becomes jammed - giving the impression the machine has swallowed it. The fraudsters then offer to help the victim and try to get the person to reveal their personal identification number (PIN).
Eventually the victim leaves the ATM. The fraudsters then remove the card from the machine and, using the PIN, empty the customer's account.
Police said they have received several complaints recently.
A spokeswoman said if the fraudsters failed to get the PIN, they gave out a false number and told the victim to ring and tell the 'bank' their number. The person at the other end would turn out to be an accomplice.
