Man, 72, attacked at cash machine

14 May 2010

A 72-YEAR-OLD man was targeted by a couple of muggers in East Ham.

The victim went to Santander Bank in High Street North to check if a payment had been made into his account.

He walked up to the cash machines and he used the one on the left-hand side.

The victim put his card into the machine and started to type in his PIN when he noticed someone lurking over his shoulder.

Thinking this to be suspicious, he looked round at the young man and asked him what he was doing.

The suspect started to push the buttons on the keypad and told the OAP the machine was not working.

The victim had seen the machine being used prior and knew there was no fault with it.

Another young man told the victim the machine did not work at which he started to scream for help.

The first suspect pushed the pensioner and took the card from the slot of the machine and made off towards East Ham Station.

The incident took place on April 26 at 5.30pm.

The thieves are both of Asian appearance and aged 17 to 25.

Police say people should be vigilant when using cash machines. Make sure there is no one looking over your shoulder.

If possible, use ATMs that are inside banks rather than ones on the street.

In addition it is a good idea to always hide the keypad when punching in your PIN.