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Barclays customers hit by cash machine fraud gangs
Abul Taher20.10.09
Hundreds of Barclays customers have lost thousands of pounds after their cards were apparently "swallowed" by the bank's machines.
The new wave of cash machine fraud, masterminded by a network of eastern European gangs has affected Barclays Bank ATMs in London, Essex, West Sussex, Leicestershire and Wales.
The fraud is known as a "Lebanese Loop", which involves criminals inserting a card-capturing device inside a cash machine's slot and a mobile phone camera behind a fake plastic cover over the ATM's keypad.
Customers insert a card into the machine and types in the Pin, the camera records it, and a message appears on screen saying the card is inactive.
The victim assumes his card has been "swallowed", and walks away to call his bank. The fraudster retrieves the card and, using the recorded Pin, withdraws as much money as possible.
A spokeswoman for Barclays said: "We are already tackling [the fraud] by upgrading our machines."
Debit and credit card fraud cost £609million last year.
Reader views (6)
This happened to me one night on my way home from Tower Hill in London. I was with friends in a taxi and pulled over to get cash to pay the driver when my card was swallowed. I cancelled the card immediately with my bank (i'm an HSBC customer) however despite doing this they still managed to withdraw several hundred pounds before the cancellation took effect.
Although HSBC refunded my money very quickly it was an unpleasant feeling being robbed from via such a large organisations machines.
- Paul Kelly, London
That the the reason I only use cash machines inside banks or building societies. NEVER use ones in the open.
- Jan, Romford
If a cash machine swallows your card, stand by the machine while you phone your bank on your mobile to let them know. Tell anyone else that it's broken down and you're letting the bank know.
Yes, it's ultimately the bank that loses, not you, but even so you'll be in for a lot of hassle if a fraudster empties your account and your cheques and debits bounce. Well worth taking a couplle of minutes on your mobile to prevent!
- Nigel, London
Graham, the bank ie. shareholders take the hit initially (though the may have fraud insurance, I don't know). However, the cost of fraud is ultimately usually then passed to all account-holders through higher account charges that help the bank preserve its margins....just like with insurance fraud, we all pay in the long run.
- David Smith, London
So, who covers the financial loss? It seems unfair that account holders should be financially out of pocket, especially if they were using the bank´s own cash dispenser machines. Unless the police can catch the criminials, I think the bank itself should be liable.
- Graham Rodhouse, Helmond, Netherlands
It's probably some disgruntled taxpayers who've misguidedly attacked the wrong target (Barclays of course never having had recourse to taxpayers' cash).
- Kevin Lynch, London
