Thousands of UK drivers that have used bank cards to purchase fuel from petrol stations across the region are reported to have collectively lost millions of pounds as a result of a credit card cloning scheme. The plot has been linked to Sri Lankan terrorists.
The BBC revealed that approximately 200 of the UK’s 9,500 petrol stations are thought to have been affected, and that UK police are now investigating complaints that have originated from petrol stations in Edinburgh, Norwich, Bury St Edmunds, Peterborough, Nottingham, Leeds, Bristol and Hull.
The BBC reported that the scheme is believed to have been carried out by recording the card details and PINs of cards used to make fuel purchases. Once the information has been recorded, the culprits have been withdrawing vast quantities of money in small amounts that they hoped would be less noticeable.
Although the perpetrators are not known, the BBC has reported that the Sri Lankan government has blamed the scheme on the Tamil Tigers, a rebel faction in the region. It has been claimed that the plot is intended to fund the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. However, UK police have reportedly revealed that there is no evidence to support this.
The BBC said that it had received information from a number of victims, some of which said that they had been hit at BP petrol stations. The publication cited a BP spokeswoman as saying that between 10 and 12 of its 1,300 UK sites have been involved, but that the company has been providing staff with security advice in the hope of avoiding further problems.