Published at 09:19, Monday, 23 April 2012

Bank card users are being warned to check their accounts after crooks attached a skimming device to a Cumberland Building Society cash dispenser.

The device records details that can be used to make fraudulent transactions.

It was discovered on an ATM at the Kingstown, Carlisle, branch at 5pm on Friday.

Police believe it had been there for no more than a day.

A force spokesman said: “Anybody that used that machine on Friday is advised to check their account for any unauthorised transactions.”

Officers are studying CCTV footage in an attempt to identify the fraudsters.

A bank customer had thousands of pounds taken from her account in a similar scam in February when a device was fitted to the cash dispenser at Brampton Co-op.

She later discovered that her card details had been used several times outside the county.

The number of frauds carried out at Cumbrian cashpoints went up last year but figures are actually down on a high of three years ago, police statistics show.

There were eight reports of this type of crime in 2011, up from two offences in 2010 but down from 12 in 2009.

Police have stressed that it is rare in Cumbria.

Officers advise that, if a cash machine looks suspicious, customers should not use it.

They should call Cumbria police on 101 and tell their bank as soon as possible.

Police also advise people to use indoor cash dispensers where possible.

The skimming device is often accompanied by a miniature camera above the keypad to capture PIN numbers as they are typed.

Customers who shield the keypad when they enter their PIN are therefore less likely to fall victim.

Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk