You can never be too careful when withdrawing money. As you know, scammers love to distract you when you’re at the cash machine, in order to steal your bank card after having memorized your code. Scam at the Marseille collar, forgotten ticket, “card trapping”… Their tricks are numerous and a new one has just appeared in recent days. Watch out, she’s awesome!
At the beginning of last week, two men were arrested as part of an investigation following scams perpetrated near ATMs. Already known to the police, they were recognized on video surveillance images during technical investigations. He is a 49-year-old showman and his alleged accomplice, a 37-year-old driver.
“Both were picked up Monday morning by the gendarmes of the research section of Versailles (Yvelines) at their home in Aubervilliers (Seine-Saint-Denis)”, tells us Le Parisien. They are imprisoned pending an appearance before the criminal court of Pontoise, in Val-d’Oise. According to information from the Ile-de-France daily, the first individual admitted the facts, while his alleged accomplice would have “partly” contested. What are they accused of, exactly?
Several elderly people have been victims of the misdeeds of the crooks. An 83-year-old man living in Baillet-en-France (Val-d’Oise) filed a complaint with the Montsoult gendarmerie on November 14. The victim claims that his bank card was stolen from him in front of an ATM. The octogenarian then revealed the well-crafted modus operandi of the thieves…
While withdrawing money from the ATM of an LCL banking establishment, the man was approached by an individual in his fifties. “The man tells him that he forgot a ticket in the hatch and asks the octogenarian to insert his credit card again and dial his code before pressing the error button”, explains Le Parisien. Only here: the manipulation does not work, and the “forgotten ticket” does not resurface.
Then, the scammer asks for help from a passer-by who has also come to collect tickets: the accomplice enters the scene. Younger, the second individual tries to unlock the device and recover the famous ticket using a pen. A distraction with the sole objective of diverting the victim’s attention in order to better steal his bank card. Once again, it is therefore essential not to take your eyes off your credit card when approached at the cash machine.
Once seized of your bank card and its confidential code, the bandits can withdraw money as they see fit. Here, the two individuals were able to obtain 300 euros… And this, despite the rapid opposition of the victim. According to Le Parisien, investigators from the research section and the local brigade have identified the modus operandi of the alleged crooks as possibly having caused other victims in France. Similar cases have been spotted not only in Île-de-France, but also in Lorraine and in the North.
In case of theft of your bank card, you must immediately oppose it, either through your banking application or by calling the dedicated number: 0 892 705 705. Normally, your bank will reimburse you the sums that have been withdrawn between the theft of your means of payment and the moment when you made an opposition.
