Be on guard after ATM card scam at Calne
11:00am Thursday 21st March 2013 in Latest News By Anne Moore
Natasha Thorn from Calne, who was a victim of an ATM scam at Lloyds bank in the High Street
Scam victim Natasha Thorn is warning cashpoint users to be on their guard after thieves stole £250 from her account.
The 31-year-old, of Baydon Grove, Calne, was playing in an evening pool match at the King’s Arms in Calne on March 4 when she decided to cross the road to withdraw £10 from the ATM at Lloyds Bank in the High Street.
At first she thought the machine had swallowed her card, but later she learned thieves had taken its details to withdraw £250 and buy petrol at Asda and Membury service station.
Ms Thorn used the machine and it then asked her to take her card, but it did not appear. Instead she heard a click and a whirling sound.
Ms Thorn said: “I panicked slightly and pressed all the buttons including the cancel button, but the card still didn’t appear.
“A countdown from 30 seconds started and I looked up and down the street, but couldn’t see anyone anywhere. The countdown hit zero and a message came up on the machine stating it was temporarily unavailable.
“I looked for a number to call Lloyds but I couldn’t see a number so I re-entered the pub.”
Fifteen minutes later, when Ms Thorn checked the machine again, there was a number to call. The operator said the incident sounded like a problem with the machine and offered compensation of £20.
She cancelled her card that night and it was only the next day, when she phoned her bank NatWest to check her balance, that she realised she had been scammed.
After speaking to Lloyds, as well as the fraud department at NatWest and the complaints department, she finally received her money back last week. She said a Lloyds spokesman told her it was not the responsibility of the bank if the machine had been tampered with.
PC Hans Monahan, from Calne Police Station, said: “This is a timely reminder that if your card is stuck in an exceptional circumstance to ring the bank as soon as possible and if you see a suspicious person loitering in the vicinity of a cash point, ring 101. We will see if roving cameras can assist us in picking out any suspects.”
A Lloyds spokesman said: “We are aware of an attack on a Lloyds TSB cash machine in High Street, Calne, where fraudsters attached a device to the machine to stop cards being returned to customers. The device has now been removed and we are speaking to the local police in relation to the incident.”
Comments(18)
Roy-Orbit of Chippenham
says...
4:50pm Thu 21 Mar 13
It would have been expertly carried out by Romanians. It's their calling card.
With our borders down on 1-1-2014 this country will allow all Romanians and Bulgarians freedom to come here without a visa to work, steal, and claim benefits.
Expect a lot more frauds like this one.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, only use the cashpoints INSIDE your bank when they are open. Plan ahead.
boyle1990
says...
5:05pm Thu 21 Mar 13
shed
says...
7:08pm Thu 21 Mar 13
boyle1990 wrote:what a totally pointless reply to a valid observation.
Ah yes Roy, don't let your bigotry get in the way of the facts, will you? Moron.
Romanians, Bulgarians? thieves and fraudsters what an awful thing to say, I don't believe word of it.
All newcomers to this country bring us the benefits of their culture and take back our benefits.
shed
says...
8:37pm Thu 21 Mar 13
"The Lebanese Loop has been a problem in countries with a high number of ATMs like the UK, the United States, Germany and France. Romanian criminal gangs are known to have involvement in the execution of this and other fraud techniques."
bloody bigots that wikipedia
Roy-Orbit of Chippenham
says...
11:06am Fri 22 Mar 13
boyle1990 wrote:Ah....the old "I'm a lefty so lets all hug a migrant" type are you?
Ah yes Roy, don't let your bigotry get in the way of the facts, will you? Moron.
Then you reap what you sew and it will get much worse. Thanks for that. Not.
notscot
says...
7:19pm Fri 22 Mar 13
It IS, however racist and bigoted to state that ALL Romanians and Bulgarians coming to the UK are criminals.
shed
says...
10:37am Sat 23 Mar 13
can you categorically state that all of those who do come to the UK are not criminals?
Roy-Orbit of Chippenham
says...
11:34am Sat 23 Mar 13
Welcome to England, please help yourself to our goods.
notscot
says...
12:01pm Sat 23 Mar 13
Roy-Orbit of Chippenham wrote:What?!!!! We've got some wonderful home-grown ratbags who could teach the Romanians about copper-stripping & metal thefts! They aren't the ones running the drugs through this country, either!!
Ah.....and next time your train is delayed it's likely that a Romanian gang has disrupted the service by nicking the electric track cables overnight to sell for scrap. It's their second favourite hobby after cashpoint fiddling.
Welcome to England, please help yourself to our goods.
Welcome to England?
Get off your backside and do something about it - campaign for change if you don't like the entry rules or the law it - instead of whining tripe from your armchair.
notscot
says...
12:02pm Sat 23 Mar 13
shed wrote:Yes,
Ah but...........
can you categorically state that all of those who do come to the UK are not criminals?
And I'll wager YOU wouldn't attach your real name to a public statement saying that they are.
Harold Shand
says...
12:57pm Sat 23 Mar 13
notscot wrote:Well said, Shed. notscot generally comes across as a cowardly idiot on here. All talk and nothing to back it up.
shed wrote:Yes,
Ah but...........
can you categorically state that all of those who do come to the UK are not criminals?
And I'll wager YOU wouldn't attach your real name to a public statement saying that they are.
notscot
says...
2:25pm Sat 23 Mar 13
Harold Shand wrote:Said Shand - in a fit of pique reminiscent of that of his heroine - another local idiot.
notscot wrote:Well said, Shed. notscot generally comes across as a cowardly idiot on here. All talk and nothing to back it up.
shed wrote:Yes,
Ah but...........
can you categorically state that all of those who do come to the UK are not criminals?
And I'll wager YOU wouldn't attach your real name to a public statement saying that they are.
I come across as a cowardly idiot - for NOT agreeing with the local idiots?
Yep - you're an idiot.
shed
says...
2:51pm Sat 23 Mar 13
notscot wrote:not bloody likely, got enough trouble with pikies round here, without Romanians picking over their leavings.
shed wrote:Yes,
Ah but...........
can you categorically state that all of those who do come to the UK are not criminals?
And I'll wager YOU wouldn't attach your real name to a public statement saying that they are.
Lets look at another way, if you were the Romanian govt, hard up, pressed for cash, high unemployment wouldn't you welcome the idea of getting shot of all your rubbish into the trash-can of Europe? ie the UK, and give the honest citizens of Romania fighting chance?
notscot
says...
3:10pm Sat 23 Mar 13
shed wrote:You stated that all Romanian and Albanians coming to the UK would work steal and claim benefits.
notscot wrote:not bloody likely, got enough trouble with pikies round here, without Romanians picking over their leavings.
shed wrote:Yes,
Ah but...........
can you categorically state that all of those who do come to the UK are not criminals?
And I'll wager YOU wouldn't attach your real name to a public statement saying that they are.
Lets look at another way, if you were the Romanian govt, hard up, pressed for cash, high unemployment wouldn't you welcome the idea of getting shot of all your rubbish into the trash-can of Europe? ie the UK, and give the honest citizens of Romania fighting chance?
I said - no they won't.
I stand by it.
Harold Shand
says...
9:32pm Sun 24 Mar 13
notscot wrote:I called you a coward because you hide behind a made up name and I stand by that claim.
Harold Shand wrote:Said Shand - in a fit of pique reminiscent of that of his heroine - another local idiot.
notscot wrote:Well said, Shed. notscot generally comes across as a cowardly idiot on here. All talk and nothing to back it up.
shed wrote:Yes,
Ah but...........
can you categorically state that all of those who do come to the UK are not criminals?
And I'll wager YOU wouldn't attach your real name to a public statement saying that they are.
I come across as a cowardly idiot - for NOT agreeing with the local idiots?
Yep - you're an idiot.
notscot
says...
10:15pm Sun 24 Mar 13
Harold Shand wrote:So the majority of posters here are cowards, you say?
notscot wrote:I called you a coward because you hide behind a made up name and I stand by that claim.
Harold Shand wrote:Said Shand - in a fit of pique reminiscent of that of his heroine - another local idiot.
notscot wrote:Well said, Shed. notscot generally comes across as a cowardly idiot on here. All talk and nothing to back it up.
shed wrote:Yes,
Ah but...........
can you categorically state that all of those who do come to the UK are not criminals?
And I'll wager YOU wouldn't attach your real name to a public statement saying that they are.
I come across as a cowardly idiot - for NOT agreeing with the local idiots?
Yep - you're an idiot.
Just how daft are you, shand?!!
lordbuckethead
says...
12:31pm Wed 27 Mar 13
However THEY will tell you a sizable minority in Romania, who are ethnically different (the 'Roma') are simply thieving scum, and they detest them as they give all Romanians a bad name.
ps Boyle1990 and all other hard-of-thinking lefties please read this
http://www.dailymail
.co.uk/news/article-
2285177/28-000-Roman
ians-held-crimes-UK-
5-years--68-000-livi
ng-here.html
(dubious source yes - the Daily Mental - but they are met police statistics so can't really argue with the numbers)
Grumpy of Calne. says...
11:21am Thu 21 Mar 13