BRITISH newspapers are reporting that a group of UK-based Slovaks fraudulently withdrew a total of over €330,000 from cash machines in France using bank cards issued by Barclays Bank.
The Daily Express reported that more than 50 people descended on the northern French port of Calais last Friday, September 11, to make fraudulent, coordinated withdrawals at different locations in the town.
French, British and Slovak police are investigating the massive scam, which was probably made possible by a technical shortcoming, the Slovak Sme daily wrote.
The Barclays Bank cards were probably handed over to the scammers willingly by members of the Slovak community in London, according to Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper. It reported that Slovak and French police arrested 39 people, but later released them after charging four with fraud.
According to Slovakia’s Pravda daily, French police were puzzled by how the Slovaks discovered the technical flaw in the bank’s systems.
