A local mother has warned the rest of Tooting to be vigilant after claiming her card was stolen at a cash machine.

Anita Leathem, a mother of two who lives in Tooting, says that she was at the Santander cash machine on Tooting High Street before a man approached her saying that the machine was broken.

Allegedly, the man came over waving two pieces of paper and pressed the cancel button on the machine and then took the card.

Thankfully, Anita froze her card and had not lost any money. However, she is now hoping that her story will prevent other people from falling victim to these tricks.

Speaking to Nub News , the 37-year-old explained exactly what happened.

She said: "So I was standing at the machine, I entered my card and put my pin in.

"Around 30 seconds later a man in his thirties, chubby and a cap came over waving two bits of paper.

"He immediately started saying 'the card machine is broken, cancel your card, cancel your card'. He came over and cancelled it and used the paper to hide that he had taken it.

"I knew straight away it was a scam and just said 'give me my card back' and he just kept saying 'no, no, I'm helping you'.

"Then he scurried off and I immediately froze my card on my phone."

Not only was the situation potentially a costly one but it was also an intimidating one.

Anita went onto say how she was thankful that she wasn't with her children as this could've been a scary situation for them.

"I was startled and scared, to be honest", Anita said.

"I hate confrontation and when I saw him running off I didn't think to chase him or anything.

"I wanted to take his photo but I didn't want to take my phone out in case he took that too.

"If I had my kids with me they would have been so frightened."

Thankfully, Anita got away from the alleged incident unscathed and without losing any money. However, she has recommended that people think twice about where they take their money out in Tooting now.

She said: "Honestly my advice would be to avoid the busier cash machines.

"The one I used is right next to a busy bus stop and that's how they get away with it.

"I'd also say be alert and don't let anyone go into your space.

"Go inside to get your cash out."

Anita is yet to receive a crime reference number for this incident but as soon as she does we will ask the police for comment.

If you have experienced something similar or know anything about this incident, please contact the police by calling 101. Alternatively, you can also contact Crimestoppers.

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