DETAILS of more than 5000 credit cards have been copied at two petrol stations in Edinburgh, it has been revealed.

Police have announced that fraudsters gained access to chip and pin machines at a BP petrol station in Bruntsfield and a Shell garage in Craigleith before altering them to gain access to details on customers' credit cards.

The scams are believed to have netted the criminals more than £250,000. Details were taken from customers at the Bruntsfield garage between the end of 2006 and the start of 2007, while the offences at Craigleith were said to have taken place last month.

One man who fell victim told the Evening News how he discovered when he had been conned.

The man, who did not want to be named, said: "I lost about £600 through this. I use that garage all the time.

"I got a call from the bank to ask if I'd been to New York recently. I said I hadn't been in my life, and then realised the money had somehow got over there through this card cloning operation.

He added: "I've not got the money back yet but I've been assured I will."

It is understood businesses in the area near to Craigleith had also sent memos round workers asking them not to use that station after some managers became suspicious at activity in the outlet.

The fraudsters are said to have manipulated the machines so that they could copy details from the magnetic strips on customers' bank cards.

Police have warned that the scams were typical of a type of crime that was currently on the increase.

DC Mike Harris from Lothian & Borders Police said: "We'd be naive to think this is a one off and it's not going to happen here again.

"There's big money to be made out of this and its certainly not the guy in the garage who is making the money."

Fraud experts have warned that there is no way for customers to detect whether their card details are being copied and say the only way for people to protect their account is to keep their pin number safe.

Mark Bowerman from the Association of Payment Clearing Services said: "You must keep your pin secret at all times and the easiest way to do that is use your free hand to shield the keypad whenever you enter your pin."

Police have confirmed a 26-year-old man has been arrested and charged in connection with alleged incidents at Craigleith and a report has been sent to the procurator fiscal.

However, a member of staff at the garage last night said he had no knowledge of a scam taking place.

Investigations into both cases are ongoing.

Meanwhile, anyone who suspects they have been a victim of credit card fraud should contact their bank.

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