More victims fall prey to Russian card criminals

CARD cloning criminals may have struck again at a city cashpoint, yet victims are not calling police about the problem.

Earlier this month The Herald reported on Anthony Vandyk who discovered his bank card had been cloned and around £300 money withdrawn in Russia.

The 64-year-old was convinced his card was copied when he used an ATM located at the Tesco store in Transit Way, Honicknowle.

Following the report Simon Nobbs, a 56-year-old from Woolwell, realised he and a number of his workmates at Derriford Hospital may have fallen foul of the same criminal scheme.

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He said he had used a different cashpoint machine, at the Tesco store in Roborough, on January 11 but when he returned a day later he discovered he had unexpectedly gone from being in the black to being heavily overdrawn.

He contacted his bank on the following Monday, unsure if he had made a mistake, but was astonished to find his money was being taken out in Moscow.

He said: "There had been five withdrawals – four at £211.16 and one at £21.16. The bank said they'd cloned my card and my PIN.

"The bank was brilliant and said they would sort it out. But I've had to wait for a new card until I could get to my money."

On learning of the fraud, Mr Nobbs said he has since heard from work colleagues who have also seen their cards cloned and money taken out of their accounts.

He said: "One said he was done the same weekend as me and £400 was taken out. The money was taken out from Moscow. Then another colleague said his mother-in-law lost a few hundred pounds, again withdrawn in Moscow and we've heard of another person at work who's been targeted. The only link between us all is we've all used the cashpoint by the Tesco store in Roborough.

"It's scary. I didn't notice anything different about the machine. It was a bit of a shock to the system to hear my money had ended up in Moscow."

Mr Nobbs admitted he had not called police about the incident but would now do so after speaking to The Herald.

Police said it was important that victims of the fraud contacted investigators as soon as possible with their concerns.

A police spokesman said: "If anyone sees anything unusual or suspicious at the cash machine they are using they should immediately contact the police and, if appropriate, the bank.

"If people do not report these incidents to us and only report them to their bank then we are unable to act upon them. It is possible there have been more incidents of this nature but police have not yet been informed of any at the locations mentioned.

"If we are quickly informed about such incidents we would be better placed to undertake appropriate inquiries.

"These would include checks on cashpoint machines in those areas as well as CCTV examination so as to identify the culprits.

"Criminals are using increasingly sophisticated technology to commit crime and we need the public's assistance in tackling card cloning."

If you have information about this kind of crime contact police on 101.