Police were alerted to the fact that a Lebanese loop had been attached to an ATM outside of Salisbury's in Chiswick. Plain clothes officers were deployed to the area in response to this information and the result was that two men were seen acting suspiciously at the ATM's. When challenged by police officers the two men attempted to run away but were detained nearby after a short foot chase.

Both men are now in police custody while enquiries continue and one small device, believed to have been inserted into the ATM, has been recovered.

This emphasises the need to be constantly alert while using any cash machines. If you see anything suspicious or have any concerns regarding attachments to an ATM do not use the machine and report the matter immediately.

The vigilance of this one member of the public will have saved others from the loss of their banking card.

A Lebanese loop is a term that has come into use to describe any device attached to or inserted in an ATM to facilitate the theft of bank cards or information recorded within them. These devices can then operate in a number of ways. In their crudest form the device keeps the card inside the ATM, so that the customer believes the card to have been retained by the ATM/Bank. However the card is then removed after the customer has left the ATM. More technical devices have the ability to copy the information held within the card before returning the card to the customer. This card information can then be used to produce "cloned" cards for use without the customer known that the original card has been compromised.

This incident occurred at around 11.30 in the evening this Monday 8th August.