Police have urged members of the public to watch out for fraudsters after a suspected card skimming device was found at the Tesco petrol station in Dunfermline on Saturday. 

The force fears more of the card-cloning gadgets could be in play in West Fife and said people should be "especially vigilant" at ATMs.

The item was removed from one of the 'pay at the pump' machines at the fuel station, at the back of the store off Winterthur Lane, and police said they were following a positive line of enquiry.

Detective Inspector Colin Robson, of Dunfermline CID, said:  “We received a report of a possible skimming device at Tesco on Saturday.

“Officers have retrieved the device and the incident remains under investigation.  As a result we are advising members of the public to be especially vigilant when withdrawing cash.

“Such devices often feature a skimming mechanism and a small camera which records their key strokes. This allows the criminal to clone the card and, having obtained the PIN, use them to withdraw cash at any ATM.”

The police said that such withdrawals often remain undiscovered until customers check their account transactions.

DI Robson said the public can help protect themselves against falling victim to card cloning by checking the card reader before using an ATM and, if they spot anything suspicious, not to use it and contact the police.

He added that if they spot anyone watching as they enter their pin number at an ATM, they should stop the transaction and inform bank staff, security staff or the police.

Anyone with information about this incident should contact Police Scotland on 101 or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.