Sadly, I’m writing this post because a recent card scam using the “Distraction Technique” has just happened to a friend at a busy Chandler’s Ford supermarket. And I’ve been asked to put up a warning item so hopefully nobody else is affected by this kind of nasty theft.
Cards were taken from my friend’s purse when they were deliberately distracted. Those cards were then used to buy over £1,500 worth of shopping.
My friend believes they were distracted as they put their bags into their car.
Someone asked them for written directions (conveniently supplying pen and paper!) to the local maternity hospitals. It is believed the cards were removed at this point.
What happened to my friend indicates this scam is being carried out by someone who knows Chandler’s Ford well enough to shop here and is almost certainly watching for potential targets (the idea would be to discover PIN numbers first before actually taking the cards so plenty of observation is going on here).
Fortunately in this case, the cards have been stopped and my friend is covered by insurance.
Hopefully this post can also act as a reminder to all of us to always be careful when entering PIN numbers into card machines in shops and ATMs. You never know who might be watching.
This Youtube clip below gives some idea of how distraction techniques can work. As they used to say in the Amercian police show, Hill Street Blues, we do have to “be careful out there”.
I must admit I’d never anticipated writing this kind of post for Chandler’s Ford Today but my friend and I would be glad if it does stop anyone else falling victim to this kind of crime.
Read Metropolitan Police’s advice on credit and debit card fraud. Financial website This is Money also tells you how to make sure you don’t become one of the 2,500 cashpoint fraud victims.
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Cash machine outside are becoming very bad for this sort of crime。
Best place to get that cash is at the tills of the supermarkets: much safer.
Another thing I have noticed is on the debit cards you now can just flash it across the reader. What a stupid idea so all the thief has to do is nick the card and does not need the PIN number. Banks have told me they can only use three times £25 a time before they need to use a PIN number. You can block this option if you go into the bank. But why didn’t they do it to opt in instead of putting everyone in potential danger.
Many thanks for your comments, Steve, and I agree with your comments about opting in, rather than opting out. I don’t like the contactless idea at all. So open to fraud.
A thought that has just occurred to me is that another good place to get cash is the Post Office. There’s no charge and given you go up to the counter one at a time to use their machine, the Distraction Technique will definitely not work here. (Only downside is you need to access the Post Office during their working hours). I have done this when my local ATM has been out of action but it could be useful for crime prevention too.
As a matter of precaution, every time I do use an ATM I check that a rubber mould of the keyboard has not been placed on top of the real one. By trying to lift a corner of the keyboard, well if there is anything there you’ll lift it up and away, in which case DON’T use the machine. (I would never put it past those doing this sort of thing to have another device fitted which might not be so obvious). If it is the real keyboard, nothing will move and the machine should be safe to use.
I would also recommend knowing who is around you when you go to use a machine and don’t let anyone get too close to you while using it. (If need be, cancel anything you’re doing and walk away with your card and bank account in good working order!).
If anyone else has some useful tips to share, please do!
Glad EBC have tweeted the link to the article. Hope it gets to warn more people of this kind of scam as a result.
An email has just been forwarded to Chandler’s Ford Today, via Guy Smales, of Eastleigh Neighbourhood Watch Association.
The original email was sent by Melvin Hartley, Community Safety & Emergency Planning Manager, of Eastleigh Borough Council.
“Last week we have had 4 scam incidents on elderly people in the car park of Waitrose in Chandler’s Ford where they were approached and asked for money by individuals. All four either had purse stolen or were persuaded to take money out of the cashpoint and hand it over to the “poor individuals”.”
“These are particularly nasty crimes and the police are working hard to identify and arrest the offenders but we can help by sending out clear messages to those at risk.”