Bank customers are being warned to stay vigilant !

The cash machine scam sweeping Britain: How fraudster gangs are using distraction tricks to fleece customers of money

Bank customers are being warned to stay vigilant as a new wave of cash machine distraction scams sweeps the country.In the scam, victims are distracted for just a matter of seconds while taking money out of an ATM, enough time for the fraudsters to steal cash from their account or swap their debit card for a fake.Barclays released a video on Thursday to help warn customers. The short clip shows a man waiting at a cash point while a woman stands behind him and watches as he enters his PIN number.She then causes a distraction - in this case she drops some money - and he turns his back from the machine to help her.Her accomplice, who is standing at the next terminal either takes his cash or - as in the case of the video - puts a fake bank card into the slot. 

The unwitting victim then turns around, collects his cash and the fake card and leaves.Finally the woman then tells the PIN code to her accomplice and they can then begin draining his account as they have the real card and the code. Fraud at cash machines rose by a fifth to £32.7million in the last year alone, according to Financial Fraud Action UK.