Once regarded as revolutionary, cash machines are now a part of everyday life. Millions of pounds are dispensed on to the High Street every year by these electronic bank tellers.

The public suspicion that greeted their introduction has long gone.

But it may well return if the high-tech scam uncovered in York is not dealt with swiftly.

The use of cash machines is so universal that any attempt to subvert their security has consequences for us all. Everyone will be anxiously double checking their bank statements after it emerged that thousands of pounds has been cleaned out of York bank accounts.

The perpetrators have taken advantage of today's higher daily withdrawal limits to make a quick killing. One couple lost £750 after three unauthorised withdrawals of £250 in quick succession.

Police say they have had a further 20 calls from people whose money has disappeared in similarly murky circumstances.

This has serious implications for the banking industry and its customers. The success of automatic cash machines is based on account holders' trust in their invulnerability. If that trust was lost, it would throw Britain's personal banking network into chaos. And York police are already expressing fears that the local cases could be part of a national swindle.

Every aspect of banking is now controlled by computer. Cash machines are only one part of that.

Much of the economy is represented merely by figures on a screen rather than hard cash. Salaries arrive in our bank accounts silently and invisibly; huge fortunes are won and lost on the stock exchange without a single note or coin in sight.

Telephone banking is becoming increasingly popular. And new, on-line banks are being established on the Internet.

All these modern financial institutions can only work if we can have faith that the technology is secure.

We know our plastic can be vulnerable: credit card fraud cost bankers and retailers £27 million last year, enough to hasten the introduction of cards protected by microchips.

But there is a big difference between faceless credit card fraud and the violation of an individual's personal bank account. If our money is not safe there, it might as well be stashed under the mattress.

Banks must react swiftly to reassure customers that the problem is under control. Any customer who has had money stolen from their accounts via a cash machine must be compensated immediately.

Restoring consumer confidence should be the banking industry's number one priority.

see NEWS 'Fraud probe over cash cards'

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