A MOTHER-of-four claims cash card fraudsters left her £300 out of pocket after raiding her account.
Angela Greenfield says the money was swiped from her Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) savings account from the cash point on Blackburn Road, Accrington.
The 36-year-old said she had her cash card with her when the money was withdrawn at the end of May and nobody else knew the PIN identification number.
Police have confirmed she might be a victim of "skimming". This is a technique used by criminals to copy card details using a device placed over the cash point card slot and to record the customer's PIN number with a wireless miniature camera. They then produce a counterfeit card and use it to withdraw money.
Mrs Greenfield, who lives in Stanley Street, Accrington, with her partner David Thomas, slammed the RBS after an investigation found she was to blame for the loss.
She only found out about the theft when she tried to withdraw money to pay for a family holiday.
She told the Observer: "I went into the bank and they said I had already gone over my limit for the week."
"A print-out showed £200 had been taken and then another £100 a minute later. I was at work at that time. I am being made to feel a liar by the bank but surely it has an obligation to look after its customers. No-one wants to help me. There is no justice."
An RBS spokesman said a full investigation had established that Mrs Greenfield was to blame because she had admitted walking round with the PIN number on her hand.
He said: "As her PIN number has become known to another party, we regret that the bank is not in a position to refund the transactions in question."
"Mrs Greenfield has confirmed to us that her PIN was recorded and, therefore, both terms and conditions were broken. Card fraud is a serious issue and we have stringent policies in place to encourage customers to take due care at all time."
But Mrs Greenfield hit back, arguing: "I said I wrote the number on my hand but that I would memorise it when approaching the cash machine and rub it off before I withdrew money. There's no way anyone could have seen it."
Mark Bowerman, of the Association for Payment Clearing Service, which jointly publishes the Banking Code, said: "It is very much down to the bank to look at individual cases as they arise. But as long as the card holder hasn't acted negligently or fraudulently she should get the money back. I haven't heard of many situations where people don't get their money back."
A police spokesman said officers were aware of "skimming" taking place, although there had been no such incidents reported in Accrington over the last two months.
