TWO petrol stations are at the centre of a police investigation after 12 customers complained their cards had been cloned.

Card reading devices at the Shell stations on Kinson Road in Bournemouth and the Shell at St Leonards have since been replaced.

Dorset Police is urging all members of the public to make regular checks on all credit and debit card accounts to make sure there are no fraudulent transactions.

One Bournemouth man approached the Daily Echo after getting a call from his bank asking if he had been spending money in America, and later that day heard a similar message on the answering machine for his daughter-in-law while house-sitting.

The 76-year-old said he only uses the debit card to buy petrol and his bank froze his account and will issue new cards.

“The card was in the machine on the counter. I was the only one in the shop,” he said.

In a statement, police said: “Dorset Police advises anyone who has used the garages prior to May 20 to make regular checks of their accounts and to report any unusual transactions to their financial institution.”

Staff at the garages referred the matter to their London headquarters, who did not return calls.

Andy Sheriff, principal trading standards officer at Bournemouth council, urged people paying for goods to keep their cards in sight, and not to use any device that looked suspicious.

“I think the general perception is that card cloning does appear to be on the rise, simply because many more of us are using cards and fewer places are taking cheques.

“Most of us are very reliant on cards. With the greater use of cards, so there’s opportunities for criminals to take advantage of that.”

In July 2007, a total of 207 people complained to police after their cards were cloned and used for unauthorised transactions abroad after using the Murco service station in Southbourne Grove. The station later changed hands.

Three men arrested by police in connection with the allegations were released without charge.