Police shutdown in cashpoint warning

Lancashire Police put out an urgent message on Sunday telling the public not to use the bank’s cash points and raising the alarm that five machines in the county had been ‘compromised’.

All five machines have been shut down.

But with officers unable to confirm which machines were involved in the alert, Santander made it clear action had already been taken to protect customers.

The bank said there had been no impact on customers as a result of the weekend scare and insists its network remains up and running.

A spokesman said: “Santander was contacted this weekend by Police who requested that a small number of ATM machines in the North West and Lancashire area be shut down due to potential criminal activity and vandalism.

“The ATMs in question were shut down immediately.

“The Santander ATM network remains fully operational and we are assisting the Police with their enquiries in relation to these ATMs in the Lancashire area.

“Customers are always advised to remain vigilant and if concerned about any other ATM machines, they should contact the police immediately and not use them.”

Police have not changed their advice since the weekend alert and have not yet given the location of the cash machines involved.

Activity was reported at the bank’s branch in Clifton Street, Lytham, earlier this month but Lancashire Police could not confirm this was one of the five involved in their investigation.

Officers were concerned criminals targeted the machines in a bid to steal card details and cash, and urged those who have lost money to contact Santander.