Police warns of card thieves at work

THE National Police force has issued warnings regarding a criminal group detected stealing bank cards in the province of Malaga.

The group is believed to be targeting elderly people in particular and using a sneaky method to steal cards while owners are using cash machines.

While one member of the group stands close enough to see and memorise the cards PIN number, another drops something at the victim’s feet and points it out.

While the card owner bends down to pick it up, another member swaps their card for another similar one and the group, which now has the card and PIN, later withdraws as much cash as possible on a daily basis.

Five cases are currently being investigated, one of which involves a 74-year-old man who saw €4,655 disappear from his account and another a 61-year-old woman who lost €16,000.

Police are warning cash machine users to cover the keys when typing in PIN numbers to ensure nobody else can see, cancel cards immediately after suspicious events and keep a close check on account movements.