Credit card cloner caught on CCTV

A thief withdrew more than £10,000 from a cash machine using 49 cloned credit cards.

CCTV images released by police show the man spending just over two hours withdrawing notes from the high street machine during early evening.

At times, other customers queued behind him and he stepped aside to allow them to use the machine before continuing to empty it.

The cards he used are described as high-quality fakes - none was rejected by the machine at Barclays Bank in Chislehurst High Street on the evening of 27 March.

A Met spokesman said: "From the data received, he would not use the same credit card twice. "From examining the footage, it was clear that when another customer arrived he would break off taking money out of the machine. Nobody else using the machines was concerned by his behaviour. He was very calm and did not raise any suspicion."

The annual cost of credit card cloning reached a record £535.2million last year, despite the introduction-of the chip and PIN security, which became compulsory in 2006. Banks confidently predicted it would eliminate fraud but the system has made some types of cloning easier, with widespread use of cards in shops.

Gangs have used bugging devices on till terminals to copy a card's magnetic strip information and Pin code before producing a replica. A Barclays spokesman confirmed the bank was cooperating with police. He continued: "While it can be difficult to detect someone using different cloned cards at an ATM, the way to stop skimming is to fit anti-skimming devices on its machines. Currently, Barclays is the only bank in the UK to do so. "We take all fraud extremely seriously and are continuously looking for innovative ways to combat it."

The man is described by police as aged about 30, clean shaven with receding hair. He was wearing a yellow jumper and a black jacket.

Anyone who visited the Chislehurst machine between 6.50pm and 9.05pm on 27 March should call Dean Roberts of Bromley CID on 020 8284 8785.