CHRISTMAS shoppers have been put on alert after cash card fraudsters swiped almost £3,500 from bank accounts in York.

Banks across the city were targeted in the sophisticated cash machine scam in which money was taken from 11 bank accounts.

Police said a total of £3,300 was stolen from accounts on November 11, including one withdrawal of £2,700 from a single account.

Detective Inspector Adam Harland, from North Yorkshire Police's financial investigation unit, warned shoppers to be on their guard over the festive season.

He said: "The run-up to Christmas is always a time when we see an increase in crime. There are a lot of people out shopping; people are spending money, probably outside a pattern of their normal expenditure.

"The shops are busy, so perhaps activities which might attract suspicion at other times of the year do not."

Seven cash machines were targeted during the day-long spree, including those outside the high street banks Lloyds, in St Helen's Square, Nationwide and Barclay's, both in Parliament Street.

Users of supermarket ATMs also fell victim at Asda and Sainsbury's at Monk's Cross and the city's two Tesco stores, at Askham Bar and Clifton Moor.

The incidents come during a surge of card-cloning activity over this month in which 15 people in York have fallen victim to the fraudsters.

Scammers operate the highly-technical con by inserting a gadget into a cash machine which then swipes the card as unsuspecting customers access their money.

Details of account and PIN numbers can then allow cloned cards to be produced and used at any cash point. The unwitting victim, still in possession of their card, is unaware of any fraudulent transactions until a bank statement arrives or they check their balance.

Det Insp Harland said many people did not understand how much value the plastic in their wallet held.

He said: "It is very difficult in the run-up to Christmas to realise how much value you are carrying around with you. It is worthwhile remembering that what you are really talking about is potential access to your account for up to several thousands of pounds. You would not wave around such a big amount of cash."

Only days before Christmas last year The Press revealed how at least 20 people were duped out of £10,000 by a gang of card "cloners" who emptied £500 from each of their accounts. They fitted a card-cloning device to a cash machine outside the Royal Bank of Scotland, in Nessgate. Hundreds of pounds were also stolen from users of the ATM at the Askham Bar Tesco, by a different gang.

Map of the machines targeted>>


What you should look out for

* People acting suspiciously near cash machines or a blacked-out van close by.

* Signs of tampering, for example, if the card slot is protruding.

* Slot movement: if the card wobbles when it is inserted or the card sticks, it could be a false front.

* "Out of order" signs placed on to the cash machine. Be suspicious if it directs you to another machine, which may have been tampered with.

How to protect your cash card

* When keying in your pin number, cover your hand.

* Use cash machines inside buildings where possible.

* Try to reduce the number of visits you make to a cash machine.

* Immediately inform your bank or building society if your card has been cloned, lost, or stolen.