Stickers reminding cash machine users to be aware of potential thieves are to be pasted by ATMs throughout Newham.
The stickers state “thieves?” in the 12 most-spoken languages in the borough along with a picture of a distraction theft in action and a reminder to call 999 in the event of an offence occuring.
A spokeswoman for Newham Police said: “We will be offering stickers to every bank in Newham and hopefully it will remind people when they are using an ATM that there may be people around who do not have good intentions.”
The initiative was dreamt up by PC Tom Wilson, from the Boleyn Ward, and was launched at the Barclays branch in Barking Road, Plaistow, last week.
Customers were invited to use a false ATM machine to see how easy it is for thieves to carry out a distraction theft and read their pin number.
Barclays’ regional security manager and branch manager were both involved in the launch which also included handing out crime prevention advice and promotional freebies to passers-by.
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