Bank cards have been copied at Teboil service stations in Oulu, police reported yesterday. They are warning the public to be vigilant when using their cards.

Copying devices have been noticed in the automatic credit card machines at Teboil petrol stations in Oululahti and Rusko. In Oululahti drivers suspicions were aroused by the credit card slot seeming unusually slanted. In addition, there was evidence that selotape had been attached to the slot. The machine has now been checked and the equipment removed. In Rusko a driver decided to check the machine and found similar tampering.

According to the police, it is likely that a 'foreign gang' has running this scam and, at least for the moment, they have not been successful because they have not had time to return to the petrol stations and collect the copied card information and PINs.

The scam, known as skimming, works through the use of a miniature camera which photographs pincode while, at the same time, a miniature 'skimming machine' copies the customer's card information, stored on its metal strip. Police stress the importance of shielding your pincode from view when engaging in any transaction.