Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Attempted robbery at santander cash machine yesterday
My wife had a lucky escape yesterday at the Santander cash machine opposite the Salisbury.
It was the middle of the day, and she had our two kids with her - one four-year-old, one in a pram - and went to take £20 to buy them lunch with. Suddenly a guy started shouting something like "No, no., Take your card. This machine is broken" and whilst distracting her like this, somehow managed to press buttons for £400 to come out.
Luckily, at this moment a guy behind shouted "Watch out! That guy's a thief" and she managed to push him away, grab her card and the £400 that popped out.
The guy then sauntered off, with no-one stepping in to stop him, and she saw him later with another guy.
On reporting it to the police, she was told that even though the cash machine does contain CCTV, there's not much they can do as no crime was actually committed.
Clearly part of the problem is the fact that the cash machine is right next to the bus stop, making loitering with intent easier to disguise.
Be aware of this attempt, anyway, and I guess always use the inside machine if you can
Tags for Forum Posts: bank machines, santander cash machines
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Alice Mezzo on
-
Sorry to hear this and thanks for the heads up. That cash machine is definitely in a dangerous spot. Will be more vigilant when using it from now on.
-
Permalink Reply by L F T Snowflake on
-
Cheers for the warning on this one. That is why I never use this machine.
-
Permalink Reply by Josephine on
-
Something similar happened to me a while back and when I posted here people said this cashpoint is notorious for scams. I agree the bus stop makes it useful for ne'er do wells. If you search on Santander you can find previous discussions.
We all know we need to be attentive at cashpoints but when someone tries to confuse you like that, it is so easy to get distracted.
-
Permalink Reply by ingo pless on
-
Thanks for the warning.
-
Permalink Reply by Clive Carter on
-
Yes, avoid this location. I had a similar experience a few years ago, with the card stolen. Two big guys distracting on either side – card stolen. The extraordinary thing is that cash was removed from my account within 15 minutes - from Salisbury. Not the Salisbury pub. From Salisbury.
I was speechless (later reimbursed by bank). Neither the bank or the police took this particularly seriously - I think because it's not unusual. Losses from this single cashpoint must surely be such that the police might stake it out – or that banks should consider ceasing operations there.
-
Permalink Reply by Justin Guest on
-
I have to say that I use this bank for cash all the time. There is a dispenser by the counters in case you do not already know, so I try to use it during banking hours and use the machine inside.
-
Permalink Reply by Alison P on
-
I think the bank was there first! (Is a cashpoint attached to a bank).
-
-
Despite the fact it's clear to all and sundry what the intent was, apparently it's easy to argue that you genuinely believed the cash machine was faulty and were only trying to help! And that somehow in the confusion, the recipient of your kindness must just have accidentally pressed 'take four hundred quid out'!
-
-
I saw something similar here last year. I don't think there are any plans to improve this stretch of pavement under the new Green Lanes improvements - I think there is a very strong case for moving the bus stop away from this section of pavement. It gets very congested, and the bus stop makes it easy for people who want to hang about until they spot a potential victim. Being next to the betting shop doesn't help.
-
Permalink Reply by Ralph Foster on
-
Sorry to hear you too have had experience of this cashpoint. I was involved in a similar incident.
I'm not surprised this is still a spot for other oppurtunists.
We all agreed then that it was much safer to walk that little bit extra down to the cashpoint outside Tescos where they have a CCTV camera pointing at it. I thought that being near to a bus stop would mean that the Santander was safer with having people around but it seems that this provides cover and confusion for these people.
© 2024 Created by Hugh.
Powered by
