Police say ATM warning is a hoax (From Oxford Mail)

Police say ATM warning is a hoax

8:38am Tuesday 10th April 2007 in

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An email claiming to be a police warning about supermarket cash machines has been exposed as a hoax.

Thames Valley Police said it did not send the email, which advises the public not to use ATM machines at Tesco, in Cowley Retail Park, Didcot and Abingdon, because of card cloning devices.

The email has been circulating around Oxfordshire companies and organisations for about a fortnight.

A police spokesman said: "There is no truth to the email. It does not come from Thames Valley Police and there have been no incidents of this sort at the Cowley store for some six months.

"It also claims Tesco's Didcot and Abingdon branches are being targeted, but there is no evidence for this either."

Tesco said that a device had been fixed to a cash machine in Didcot six weeks ago, but no card details were stolen because the store had fitted protective technology.

Monica McCormack, of Tesco Personal Finance, said: "Anti-skimming devices were installed in the machines last year.

"Tesco Personal Finance takes the security of our customers very seriously and we are always working on a number of new initiatives to stay one step ahead of fraudsters where possible."

The supermarket chain advised people to keep alert when using cash machines and not to let cash cards out of sight when paying for goods.

Didcot resident Sheree Brennan, who had £500 taken from her account last month, received the hoax email - but now she cannot be sure how her card details were stolen.

She was away on a family holiday in the Lake District, when a fraudster spent money over the Internet using her bank details.

Mrs Brennan, of Blenheim Close, said: "There are only so many places someone could have stolen my details, because I rarely use my card.

"They were using my details to buy things off eBay through PayPal.

"I think the public should be aware that this kind of crime is happening."

Police advised card users to cover up pin numbers when typing them into machines and contact them if anything suspicious is spotted at cash machines.

Sgt Peter Hickman, who is in charge of fraud investigations in Oxford, said: "We have been contacted by a number of concerned residents who have received this email and whatever its source, it's totally irresponsible to send this out to people.

"It's causing a lot of worry across Oxfordshire and also has the potential to damage the reputation of both Tesco and Thames Valley Police, because it seems as though we are impotently standing by while customers become victims of card fraud."