My bank card magically disappeared after I'd inserted it into a bank ATM and entered my pin number. Card gone and not in the bank's machine on checking. However, a man had been waving leaflets in front of me and I thought he was trying to tell me that the machine was out of order. He must somehow have hit cancel and taken my card whilst I was distracted. I stopped the card straight away but not before it had been used to withdraw cash (max £300) at the bank 100 yds away.
I didn't hear the rattle as the card must have ejected (traffic and him talking I guess) nor see him palm it, presumably behind the waving leaflets.
I didn't know to watch out for this scam as I thought it was hidden cameras not people to watch out for at ATMs, significantly before I'd got to even requesting an amount of money.
Well, I know now
Hopefully by this you and yours will know now also.
Sorry to hear this ,where did it happen? Do you have a description of the man? Did the bank have CCTV, did you inform the police?
I hope the bank refunded your money.
The incident happened at Lloyds TSB ATM opposite Syd station; the cash was fraudulently taken I gather from Nat West apparently (I'm guessing that for speed it'd be the one 100 yds down the road). My bank (neither of the above) said they'd be launching a fraud investigation and did I mind if the police were called in. I don't of course, though whether they will be called in or were just asking to gauge my response is anyone's guess. CCTV was mentioned and I hope there is one (or two being the other bank) as I couldn't describe someone after spending half an hour with them let alone a brief glimpse. If it was the guy waving leaflets (and I don't see how it could be anyone else), he was taller than me - so guessing 5'8" or more, neither thin nor fat, and spoke with an accent that I'd just call "foreign". Shortish dark hair that I think had a slight curl (well it wasn't straight, dangly or unkempt); not young as in teenage, maybe late 20s or upwards but age is impossible to guess at.
In fact I thought it was strange that he said (or I understood him to mean as I'm not good with foreign accents) that the ATM wasn't working as had taken his card. Then, when mine went, I said it'd just taken mine. He replied, yours as well. What was odd was that I walked straight into the bank to ask for it back, yet he wasn't in the bank wanting his back. As said my card was not in the bank's machine, and strangely, lol in retrospect, neither was his apparently.
My bank has said I'm covered for fraud so I will get a refund, although they could just as easily take it back again, but if they do I'll come out of my corner with handbags at dawn.
Just listening to LBC and someone else has reported the exact same thing, also recently in Sydenham. Apparently that card snatcher managed to get £800 (they said £100 used at Ladbrokes, dunno about the other £700). With any luck, the scammers have "done" Sydenham now and moved on, so I hope other boroughs had someone listening to LBC just now! Apparently that was an elderly pensioner. I did think that if I were a big man I'd have nudged the paper-waverer aside, but it seems, perhaps obviously, that they don't choose big men as targets.
