Ross residents are being urged to be wary of fraudsters who tamper with cashpoints and loiter in the area, to try to observe people entering their PIN numbers.

On the Ross-on-Wye Notice Board on Facebook, two people reported witnessing large groups of “foreign nationals” who were acting suspiciously around the cashpoints outside Morrisons.

One local woman, on August 13th, reported that she had witnessed a group of eight people who had been hanging around the cashpoints, and anytime someone used it, one of members of the group would go to the cashpoint, but not get any money themselves.

She added that she watched the group over a 20 minute period, and she also noticed that there were two girls who were trying to get close to people using the cashpoints, looking over their shoulders.

The following day, another Ross resident posted on the Facebook group that he had seen a group, again loitering near the cashpoints outside Morrisons, and he had witnessed members of the group watching people enter their PIN numbers into the machine, and then typing this information into their mobile phones.

The Ross Gazette has previously reported several cases of distraction thefts where people have had their bank cards stolen, after criminals have watched them enter their PIN numbers.

A Morrisons spokesperson told the Gazette: “We called the police who are investigating the issue. We’d encourage customers to be vigilant and continue to report anything suspicious.”

The Phocle Green Neighbourhood Watch (NHW) Co-ordinator visited Morrisons after the first incident was reported, and he spoke to a PC and a PCSO who had responded to the police report.

He said: “The Officers said that, on their arrival, there was no group of persons anywhere by the cashpoints at that time and sadly, because nobody had taken any video or still pictures of the people that were there, there was no way for them to try to identify anyone and therefore, nothing further they could do apart from their presence hopefully being a timely deterrence.”

He said that when people witness suspicious activity, they should take videos or photos on their phones, and pass this along to the police, as this information is invaluable.

If you can give the police any detailed information about the identity of the people acting suspiciously near the cashpoints, please call 101 or contact Crimestoppers via 0800 555 111, or visit: crimestoppers-uk.org

See the full story in this week’s edition of the Ross Gazette, or subscribe to our online edition here.