Do not use the ATM at Tesco's Crystal Palace Road

[ianmyoplex]

Went to use the ATM at Tesco's on Crystal Palace road today at 16:00hrs. The ATM swallowed my card, I have since contacted Nat West to cancel the card, who have exxplained to me the card has been used fraudently at Currys and ?500 withdrawn from the ATM.

[Bluerevolution]

Do you mean East Dulwich Road?

[DulwichFox]

Where is there a Tesco's on Crystal Palace Rd. ?? or indeed an ATM. ?

DulwichFox

[ianmyoplex]

Sorry guys it is on the East Dulwich Road, next to the petrol station.

[Bluerevolution]

Have you informed the store?

[ianmyoplex]

Yes but they tell me it is nothing to do with them i have to contact the Bank, and that is what i have done.

[Jacqui5254]

How awful. Thanks for taking the time to let us all know, ianmyoplex.

Hope you get your money back without too much hassle.

[Cedges]

Were the fraud transactions before or after 4pm? it sounds to me like it was before and your card was taken by the atm in case you were the fraudster. If this is the case, the atm is working perfectly fine, your back is pretty good at fraud detection and tesco are not at fault.

[ianr]

Otherwise it sounds as if it might have been a Lebanese loop, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lebanese_loop.

Possible actions? Examine the card slot for the device? Call your bank immediately to cancel card? Hang around, openly or covertly, in the expectation that a perp will be along shortly to collect the card? Call the police immediately to advise them a possible Lebanon loop exploit is in mid-course?

[ourbubbleonline]

Got to say something here - Ok you got the location wrong, yet come on people where is the only TESCO in ED, give the guy/girl a break. Feeling for ya!

[KrackersMaracas]

Echoing Ourbubble and Jacqui - thanks for letting us know, and I'm very sorry you had your card stolen. I hope your bank refund the money. A shame Tescos couldn't help more (or put a warning up) but I can understand their position.

[minder]

Hope you get it sorted ianmy!

This happened to me going back years ago at Sainsburys, Dog Kennel and nobody in the store could help me. I tried and insisted to get a deputy manager to open up the ATM to get my card back with no avail! He just said it's down to the actual bank.

[IVAN EDAKE]

Shocking

[Curose]

Thank you for making us aware of this. Hope your bank covers your financial loss.

[Otta]

This happened to Mr (in Penge) a couple of weeks back. Did you tell the police? It's a horrible feeling.

[JohnL]

Mine got swallowed in Holborn Kingsway - no money taken.

Apparently the bank that swallows it cannot do anything - only possible if it's your bank.

I rang my bank and they just said sometimes machines do that ... nice. Said I could take money out using a branch check (they had those in the 80s).

[Otta]

The issue is that devices known as "Lebanese loops" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lebanese_loop) are stuck on to the machines, so when the machine "retains" your card, these devices hang on to it so once you walk away someone comes along and gets your card out. They have cameras attached to the top of the machine which give them your PIN, they then proceed to withdraw as much as your account will let them. Fortunately for me it was just before pay day so they only got ?40 (HA!!!) which the bank have since refunded.

A week after it happened to me I noticed another device on the same machine so called the police. They turned up and showed me how the camera was hidden under a strip stuck to the top side of the machine.

Very clever and surprisingly simple scam. Bastards.

[Penguin68]

They have cameras attached to the top of the machine which give them your PIN,

It's always a good idea to shield the keypad (I use my open wallet) when inputting your pin. Doing that (and standing close to the machine itself blocking observation from behind) will (hopefully) offer some protection.

[JohnL]

Penguin68 Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> They have cameras attached to the top of the

> machine which give them your PIN,

>

> It's always a good idea to shield the keypad (I

> use my open wallet) when inputting your pin. Doing

> that (and standing close to the machine itself

> blocking observation from behind) will (hopefully)

> offer some protection.

Yes - good advice - Do that without even thinking now.

[Siduhe]

Likewise, I have got into the habit of running my hand along the top edge of the machine/hole in wall before I put my pin in - as Otta says, that's where any camera is most likely to be and you can feel easily if there's something there. The only place I've ever found anything was at the cashpoints at Brockley/Crofton Park, but even that one time makes me very glad that I check.

[Gadge]

I think you will find that this ATM was identified as a problem many years ago when this type of crime surfaced. It was mentioned in a local news article and I stopped using it then. Shielding pin input was recommended then and I have done it ever since where ever. Also if a machine is susceptible to fraudulent use as this one is,don't use it again. The store recently moved the machine to a more open/visible location to the right of the building and nearer to the cashiers window. I always thought this was to make it more difficult to scam so the store knows it is a problem.

[DulwichFox]

Forget Lebanese Loops..

Be aware of Pinhole Cameras.. they can be fitted in several locations around the keypad..

http://i.stack.imgur.com/6zV34.png

Would you of spotted it. ?

DulwichFox

[Mustard]

A while ago, the cash machine at the Co op on Forest Hill Road had a camera hidden in the top, which was discovered by the person in front of the queue.

[KrackersMaracas]

I never used to bother & thought people only covered pins to stop those behind them in the queue from commuting an offence ... Then I watched a documentary which focused on crime on the underground (it was interesting I swear!)- the team pulled an entire false front off a cash machine located in the concourse of a busy station, revealing a Lebanese loop and a camera. I was completely surprised that something so big could be fitted in an area that would always (when open) be surrounded by people. Since then I've been a lot more wary. You probably wont be able to avoid using a machine with a loop fitted ... But you can prevent the camera catching your pin by covering it entirely.

[Otta]

I guess if a couple of blokes walked in to a station in high vis jackets and started fiddling with a machine, the majority of people would just walk by, assuming the were engineers of some sort.