CHESHIRE Police are alerting the public to be vigilant following reports of cash point fraud in Crewe.

Many of the tactics being used by fraudsters tend to be card skimming, card entrapment and cash trapping. In these reported cases the cards appear to be trapped.

The victim usually believes that the card has been retained by the cash machine due to a problem and walks away.

The fraudster will recover the original card and the pin number and is then ready to use the card.

If you find that your card is trapped in a cash machine for no apparent reason police are advising that you call them on 101 and stay with the machine to prevent others using it or any devices being recovered.

Det Insp Karen Jaundrill, of the force Economic Crime Unit, said: “We are asking all members of the public to be vigilant when using a cash machine and to be aware of any suspicious activity around cash points, which may be an attempt to deploy a device.

"If you want to report any suspicious activity, or have been a victim of ATM machine scam, please contact Cheshire Police on 101.“

To find out more about preventing yourself from falling victim to scams and frauds visit our fraud page at cheshire.police.uk.

If you have any information and would like to give information anonymously call 0800 555 111.