| In one incident, at least four people had their card cloned while withdrawing money from the ATM at the Asda Kirkton. The details were then used to withdraw hundreds of pounds from their accounts.
People who used the Derwent Avenue facility between June 26 and June 30 are now being urged to check their bank statements.
Detective Inspector Kevin McMahon, of Tayside Police, told the Tele, “We haven’t recovered any device but it would appear customers have been targeted by card cloning criminals.”
DI McMahon said an ATM at the Asda in Dunkeld Road, Perth, had also been hit yesterday.
Skimming is a process whereby the data from a bank card’s magnetic strip is electronically copied to another card.
A “skimmer”, mounted to the front of the normal ATM slot, reads the card number and transmits it to the criminals, who are usually waiting close by.
A small camera, or other recording device, is placed above or close to the key pad allowing the fraudsters to film the customer entering their pin number.
“The problem is it is not too difficult to do,” said DI McMahon. “There does appear to be organised groups of criminals travelling across the country engaging in this type of activity.”
The Tele understands some of the money fraudulently obtained from the Dundee accounts was withdrawn from ATM machines in England.
DI McMahon warned everyone should be vigilant when withdrawing money.
“Have a good look at the machine and touch it to see if anything unusual appears to have been added to it,” he said.
“If there is a problem with getting the card back always take immediate action and report it.”
Experts advise the public when entering their PIN to hold their hand above it and to use an ATM inside a bank branch if possible. |
