Police are urging commuters to be careful when buying tickets from machines at train stations and the London Underground network.
The warning comes after police have noticed an increase in the number of card skimming devices being placed on payment keypads at ticket machines in London train stations. Card skimming devices capture credit and debit card details from victims who place their card into them.
The British Transport Police and Transport for London are offering cardholders the following advice:
- if someone close to the ticket machine is behaving suspiciously, use a different one
- if there is something unusual about the machine and you suspect that a skimming device has been attached to it, do not use it and alert a member of staff at the train station or the police
- use your free hand to shield the keypad when you enter your PIN
- if someone starts crowding or watching you, cancel the transaction immediately and use another machine
While an increase in this type of crime has been reported in the London area, cardholders across the UK should be vigilant before placing their bank card in ticket machines or cash points.
Read more about the card skimming increase on the UK Payments website.
Please note: Action Fraud is not responsible for the content on external websites.
To report a fraud, call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or use our online fraud reporting tool.
See also:
Cash point fraud
Bank card fraud
Fraud costs the UK over £38 billion
