RESIDENTS in Halton are being warned about cash point scams.

Cheshire Police say fraudsters are targeting cash machines outside post offices, convenience stores, banks, building societies and other outlets across the county.

People are urged to be on their guard before using a cash machine and be alert to suspicious activity from any cash machine points.

Operation Astoria has been put in place by the Cheshire Police Economic Crime Unit to concentrate on crime related to cash machines (ATMs).

Many of the tactics being used by fraudsters include card skimming, card entrapment and cash trapping.

DC Tony Condon from the Economic Crime Unit said: "There have been an increasing number of attacks on ATMs across Cheshire, where the fraudsters are using all three methods to obtain money from innocent victims.

“ATM users do not know they are victims until they realise their account balance has reduced more than normal.

"Our intelligence suggests that organised crime groups are responsible for the attacks, which has in turn led to more overseas spend on fraudulent use of UK cards and stolen identity.

“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.

“When using an ATM, it is highly recommended that people conceal their PIN number from view as the fraudsters rely on either seeing your PIN number or catching it on devices which they have deployed."

Card skimming involves using a video on a mobile phone to capture the pin numbers of innocent ATM users.

These adapted mobile telephones are usually hidden above the pin number area.

The fraudster will also attach a false mouth piece which will read and copy the details on the magnetic strip of the card.

Once these details have been copied, this information can be transferred on to a new card and, with the pin number, they can withdraw money from the victims account.

The fraudster will also use an adapted mobile telephone to record the pin number being inputted by the victim.

Another method is card entrapment.

The fraudster will use an adapted mobile telephone to record the pin number being inputted by the victim but will use a device to trap the victims card once it has been placed into the machine.

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

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

A third con trick is cash trapping. The fraudster will place a device over the area where the money is released from the cash machine.

The device traps the money making the victim believe that the machine has a problem and is not releasing any funds. The fraudster will then collect the device and the money collected.

In 2014, UK counterfeit card fraud had increased by 10% from the previous year and is a growing problem.

To report any suspicious activity, call Cheshire Police on 101 or visit the fraud page at cheshire.police.uk.