Men using street prostitutes in Christchurch have been advised to carry cash.
In two recent cases prostitutes working in the city have accompanied their clients to money machines for payment and scored more than their stated fee, police said.
Detective Sergeant Dorothy McPhail said the prostitutes "shoulder-surfed'' to learn their clients' PINs while they were withdrawing money, then later stole their bank cards and helped themselves to a bonus fee.
"We are aware of at least a couple of cases recently where men have lost money from their accounts after picking up prostitutes off the street,'' she said.
"The clients wake up in the cold light of dawn having lost several hundred dollars.''
Ms McPhail said two men, "one in their 50s and one in their 60s,'' had made formal complaints to police, but there could be other scam victims who were too embarrassed to report their losses.
The complainants had given "street names'' for the prostitutes but were unable to identify them and there was no CCTV footage available from the money machines.
Police had been unable to take the men's complaints any further.
"Shoulder-surfing is nothing new, but the message is that whenever you're getting money out of an ATM be aware of anyone in close proximity,'' Ms McPhail said.
Men using prostitutes should carry cash.
"We suggest they go to massage parlours instead of picking them up off the street.''
- by Cullen Smith, The Star
