Police warn over ATM card skimming fraudsters

NSW Police are warning people to take care, after a card skimming device was found attached to an automatic teller machine (ATM) at Bondi Junction in Sydney at the weekend.

Paul Edwards, a spokesperson for ANZ, said the card skimming device was discovered by a customer who took it to police.

Edwards said there hadn't been any loss to customers who had used the machine. "At this stage we think we identified this fairly early," he said.

"But we have taken steps of putting restrictions on the accounts of people who have used that ATM, and also have been going through the process of calling up those customers and telling them what happened."

The ANZ customers involved have also been issued with new ATM or credit cards and new personal identification numbers, Edwards said.

He estimates about 800 ANZ customers and about 450 customers from other financial institutions used the ATM between when the bank checked it last Thursday and when the card skimming device was discovered.

Edwards said the card skimmer was a device which sits over the top of the slot where the customer inserts their card. "They also find a way of fixing a pinhole camera which captures details of PIN entry as well," he said.

The NSW Police have issued an alert following the discovery, urging people to be security conscious when using ATMs.

"People are asked to be aware of anything that appears to be out of the ordinary when using ATMs," said a NSW Police statement. "Anything protruding around the front of the ATM where they enter their card should be reported to police."

Police from the Eastern Beaches Local Area Command were conducting enquires into the card skimming device found at Bondi Junction on Saturday, it stated.