BARCLAYS bank customers in Abergavenny who have had money stolen from their accounts want to know why the bank has issued no warnings about the scam.

One Abergavenny resident had almost £300 taken from her account by means unknown to her or to the bank.

On making enquires with the Barclays it was discovered her money was taken from the account in Lithuania.

She told the Chronicle, "Since the incident with my account I have heard that many more Barclays account holders have had the same thing happen to their accounts. I know of two young women who were left without any money in their account.

"Barclays, I believe, have been aware of this scam for some time. Why haven't they issues some kind of warning to the account holders at Barclays or place an information bulletin within the bank urging account holder to make checks on their accounts.

"Some Barclay account holders I have spoken to about this incident are changing banks.

"Surely it would have been good customer relations for Barclays management to have issued some warning to their account holders.

Mr Paul Hopkins also questioned, "Why has it been left up to the victims of fraud to warn others about their misfortunes and where on earth have the responsibilities of managers disappeared?"

Mr Hopkins' question follows his mother having £150 taken out her account by someone who had obtained her details.

"Any self-respecting bank manager should have taken prompt action to inform all customers of their local branch about such acts of theft," said Mr Hopkins. "I was appalled to find out that several other customer of Barclays bank had also suffered, some having amounts of £700 taken as early as two months prior to this.

"The first reported incident should, in my opinion have been enough to at least issue letter to all customers warning them to be extra vigilant regarding their details. I also believe that investigations to the branches cash machines should have been a priority."

Gwent Police, who say the incidents are believed to be as a result of card cloning has issued a warning following several reports in the Abergavenny area.

Police believe the cards were cloned when people were using them at ATM's in the town but they are working with the banks and the financial investigation unit on the matter.

PC Andy Charles said, "Gwent Police are warning people to be extra vigilant and to report anything suspicious. A card cloning device may not be readily visible to them but there are usually indications that the ATM has been tampered with."

A Barclays bank spokesman said, "We take all fraud, including ATM fraud, extremely seriously and are continuously looking for innovative ways to combat fraud. We advise our customers to regularly check their statements to make sure that the transactions included are correct - if not they should contact the bank immediately to make sure that they have not been subject to fraud. Barclays works very closely with the police by passing all information to them straight away. As a result the police have been undertaking surveillance operations across the country and have made a number of arrests. All Barclays customers are covered by the fraud guarantee - if you are an innocent victim of fraud then Barclays will refund your losses."