A £39m withdrawal as cashpoint fraud soars

Fraudualent use of cards at cashpoint machines soared by more than a third last year to £39 million.

The crime involves criminals making use of other people's Pin numbers to withdraw cash.

However, the overall level of credit and debit card fraud is down for the first time in eight years.

The total of £402.6 million fell five per cent, mainly down to better intelligence and tracking.

The biggest fraud category is now "cardholder not present", which is goods and services being ordered over the phone with a lost or stolen card. This rose by six per cent to £116.4 million.

Sandra Quinn, director of plastic card trade body APACS, said: "The fraudster will always look for new avenues."