A MAN who tried to use a cashpoint at a busy supermarket discovered an illegal skimming device when his card became stuck in the machine.

The shopper, who has not been named, was trying to withdraw money from one of the cash machines at Tesco in Courteney Road, Gillingham, but when his card became stuck, he pulled at it, and the skimming device fell off the front of the machine.

Police are urging people to be on their guard, and if they have used the cashpoint recently, to check their bank accounts immediately.

The discovery of the suspicious device happened at about 9.20am on Thursday, June 21, when the man called in police.

Crime reduction officer PC Tom Duffy said: “There are a number of steps that you can take to help prevent yourself from becoming a victim of credit card fraud.

“At cash points check behind you before you put your card in. If someone is standing too close behind you or you think someone is watching, either offer to let them go first or go to a different cash point.

“Always make sure no one can see you input your PIN number at a cash point and keep your number secret. Look out for anything unusual around cash dispensers.

“This could include unofficial out of order notices that appear to direct users to one particular machine, misaligned or blurry screens or the card seeming to stick when being inserted or ejected from the card slot of the machine.”