Residents in the Burnham-On-Sea area have this week being warned to be extra vigilant when using cash machines after police seized a ‘skimming’ device from a cashpoint outside Highbridge’s Asda store on Thursday afternoon (November 24th).
Officers recovered the “sophisticated” set-up, which included a miniature video camera to record PIN numbers being entered on the keypad, plus a magnetic credit card reader to store bank account details.
Burnham Police told Burnham-On-Sea.com it is unlikely that any card details were actually stolen because the whole system has been recovered. However, they say any users who are concerned should contact their bank to request a new credit card.
The system is understood to have been in use on the Nationwide cash machine, pictured here, during Thursday morning.
Neighbourhood Beat Manager Adrian Jones from Burnham Police told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “The set-up was an identical colour to the cashpoint itself so was very difficult to spot.”
“We advise users to cover the keyboard when entering their PIN number and also to immediately report any suspicious device spotted on the cash machine.”
He added that the system has been sent away for forensic analysis, while CCTV footage of the cash machines in the hours leading up to the seizure is also being fully examined.
