Hertfordshire police are warning drivers to be on their guard against credit card copying at petrol stations in Borehamwood and Elstree.

Hertfordshire Constabulary has evidence that credit card cloning has taken place more than once at the Shell petrol station, in Borehamwood's Elstree Way, and at the Esso petrol station, in Elstree's Elstree Hill, and at 12 other petrol stations and restaurants in the county.

Hertfordshire police are trying to identify individuals and outlets involved in the growing fraud of credit card cloning, called 'skimming'. Cloning usually occurs when a person hands over their card, which is secretly copied before their payment is processed in the normal way.

A mobile card-reading device, called a skimmer and usually no bigger than a packet of cigarettes, copies the data from the card's magnetic strip.

Det Sgt George Smith, of the constabulary's cheque and credit card fraud unit, said: "The cards are skimmed out of sight of the card-holder. This data is then copied onto another card or is put onto a counterfeit card, which is made to look like a real credit or debit card. Most often, the card-holder does not realise this has happened until they check their statements weeks later and see a payment has been made that has not been authorised by them.

"Our advice is not to let your card out of your sight and to be aware of any distractions that may occur at the point of payment."

A worker at the Borehamwood Shell station said he not seen any evidence of fraud, and an Elstree Esso employee said he was not aware of any cloning.

Anyone with information on skimming could receive a £500 reward by calling Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

June 26, 2002 15:30