Petrol card scam costs 'thousands'

Detectives are getting to grips with one of the biggest cases of its kind.

The Observer understands the number of complaints reported to Rother CID in the past few weeks tops the 100 mark.

Victims who have also contacted the Observer say amounts as large as 500 have been taken from their accounts following their use of credit cards at petrol filling stations. Many thousands of pounds are believed to be involved.

Losers - including motorists from the Sidley area - are finding that money has been withdrawn from their accounts from countries as far afield as Mexico, Canada, Monaco, and Pakistan.

Police are remaining tightlipped about the method used in the scam.

This week the Observer asked newly appointed Rother CID chief DI Owen Poplett for his comments and for legal reasons he was guarded in his response.

"As a result of a number of complaints by people who have had funds taken from their credit card accounts, we did arrest a person from the BP garage who has been interviewed and denied any involvement in the matter," he said.

"For other reasons, unrelated to this, Immigration are involved and he has been deported. There is nothing to suggest that the management of the BP garage is involved with any of this, and it is a matter that is widespread, and is now being collated by our Major Fraud unit.

"Obviously if people inspect their credit card account or bank card statement when they receive them, and there are any entries which do not appear right, they should contact their bank in the first instance."

He said a "considerable" number of people were victim to the scam and added: "We had a spate of reports coming in over the last two weeks, which this week seem to have tailed off."