CREDIT card "skimmers" have struck at cash machines across York city centre.

One victim had £1,600 stolen from his account after he used the Lloyds TSB cash point, in St Helen's Square, a week ago - with separate attacks happening at other machines.

York Police confirmed they had received a number of reports of cards being cloned in the city and a leading bank urged customers to be on their guard against the stealth crime.

The Evening Press understands that as many as EIGHT cases have been reported in the last fortnight as the sophisticated thieves clone bank cards.

The technique sees a gadget placed on to a cash machine which then swipes the card as unsuspecting customers use the points to access their money.

Details of account and PIN numbers can then allow cloned cards to be produced and used at any cash point.

The victim, still in possession of their card, is unaware of any fraudulent transactions until a bank statement arrives - or anti-fraud officers notice suspicious activity on their accounts.

The man who had £1,600 stolen, who does not want to be identified, saw his card used at outlets and banks in Surrey.

A number of banks and building societies with cash points in York have already started to take preventative measures to make sure their customers' cash is safe.

At Barclays, in Parliament Street, anti-theft devices have been fixed to cash points in a bid to hamper cloning thieves. Customers are told not to use the machine if they believe the equipment has been tampered with.

A Lloyds TSB spokeswoman said: "We ask all of our customers to be vigilant and to report any suspicious that they see to the bank and to the police straight away.

"They should not remove any suspicious devices that are attached to the machine but should contact the authorities."

Colin Ventress, of York Police, confirmed there had been a number of reports of cards being cloned in York in recent weeks.

"There are reports of cards having being cloned and mis-used," he said. "There have been a number of cases."

Updated: 10:06 Tuesday, May 03, 2005