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We know you flagged that fraud is a concern for you, so this is a quick update to tell you how we’re addressing concerns and supporting residents. Dear residents,
Late last night, Tuesday 14th July a customer tried to withdraw money from a cash machine in Putney High Street to find that the machine kept his card. On examination of the area around the card slot the customer saw that a 'lebanese loop' device had been afixed to it for the purpose of keeping the card to assist with defrauding the card owner. The customer did not mange to retrieve his card and contacted the police shortly afterwards, officers attended and confirmed the presence of the loop device and reported it as a fraud.
Please check all atm machines prior to inserting your bank card in the card slot as these devices are usually disguised to blend in with the slot but are usually glued on top of them and designed with flaps that face inwards to trap the card, your pin number is then either remembered by a suspect looking over your shoulder or if it is a more professional job, a camera is concealed in a narrow strip of plastic which is afixed to the ceiling of the atm, the suspect may be some distance away observing the input of the pin number via his mobile phone. Once the card is trapped and the customer walks away the thief then retrieves the card from the loop and inserts it normally and uses your pin to steal cash.
Many years ago a colleague and I caught a man red handed retrieving the theft apparatus from a remote atm after someone called the police after their card was trapped, an accomplice of his ( who was a taxi driver ) was sitting in a taxi observing the pin imput on his phone. While we didn't catch the taxi driver we arrested and charged the male we caught at the atm which was very satisfying.
If your card is stuck in an atm enter the bank immediately to let them know and cancel your card either trough the bank branch or by phoning your bank, then call the police immediately if it has just happened.
Regards
PC Damian Catherall
 We consider fraud to be a serious crime and will put the time in to tackle it however we can. In the meantime, there are ways to keep yourself safe. Fraud comes in many forms and across various different channels, whether that's through emails, phone calls or in person encounters. Please see a few resources below to protect you and others from potential fraudsters: For more information and help and to report fraud, go to Action Fraud, the UK’s national fraud and cybercrime reporting centre. Lastly, if you think you’ve uncovered a scam, been targeted by a scam or fallen victim to fraudsters, please contact 101 or Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or online at Action Fraud. | 
