People are being urged to take care when using ATM machines after a scanning device was found at a supermarket in Yarmouth.A shopper came across the device on an ATM at Sainsbury's, in the town's St Nicholas Road, at about 1.

People are being urged to take care when using ATM machines after a scanning device was found at a supermarket in Yarmouth.

A shopper came across the device on an ATM at Sainsbury's, in the town's St Nicholas Road, at about 1.30pm on Wednesday. It has since been removed.

Police would like to hear from anyone who saw anyone acting suspiciously in the area or who has concerns about any cash machine they may have used.

Urging public vigilance, Sgt Phil Gray, of Yarmouth police, said: “By reporting suspicious devices attached to ATMs or activity in the vicinity of ATMs, the public can protect themselves from being victims and help the police catch the criminals responsible.

“The best defence is to check the ATM carefully before using it and to shield your hand when entering your PIN. Some skimming devices are very sophisticated and can be diffi-cult to spot. If in doubt, report it.”

As part of a national rollout of anti-skimming devices, Sainsbury's has now had protective devices installed on the ATMs at St Nicholas Road.

The crime is committed by attaching electronic skimming devices over the card slot on ATMs. The device will then read card details from the magnetic strip on cards inserted into the machine.

In order to clone your card, the criminal then needs your Pin. This is either obtained by means of a

pinhole camera which is also attached to the ATM (above or to the side of the keypad) or by the criminal standing near you and memorising your Pin or entering it on to a mobile phone.

Anyone with information about the above incident is asked to contact PC Stephen Hughes at Yarmouth police station on 0845 456 4567.