POLICE are urging anyone using cashpoint machines to be alert after card skimming devices were used on ATMs in Halesworth and Beccles.

POLICE are urging anyone using cashpoint machines to be alert after card skimming devices were used on ATMs in Halesworth and Beccles.

Officers said a man went to the Barclays cashpoint in the Thoroughfare at Halesworth on Wednesday August 12 and struggled to insert his card into the machine.

When he tried to get his card out again the machine shut down. The man returned to the bank in the morning to report that his card had been swallowed but no trace was found.

Police say it appears there had been device on the machine and the card owner subsequently noticed fraudulent use of his card.

A similar incident occurred last Sunday at the same cashpoint.

A check was made after it was discovered the cash machine wasn't working and tape was found near the card slot. The device may have been placed on the machine around 8.35pm on Sunday night.

Another incident occurred at the ATM at the Rainbow store in Gosford Road in Beccles, probably in the early hours of Wednesday.

An electronic fault was detected and an engineer discovered a camera and card reader had been installed on the machine.

Police are urging anyone using a cashpoint machine to alert officers immediately using 999 if they notice anything suspicious.

Anyone with information should call Beccles police on 01986 835300.