Bank customers were today warned to guard against cash machine fraud as the crime reached epidemic proportions.

The number of victims in Brighton and Hove has reached 1,200 since complaints began flooding in to police in March.

Six weeks ago, The Argus reported that cash machine crime in the city had netted criminals £1 million, making it the fastest-growing form of card fraud.

Yet new figures reveal today more than 200 people have fallen victim to cashpoint fraudsters in the city since then.

Criminals are targeting people taking money from hole-in-the-wall machines ahead of the introduction of safer Chip and Pin cards.

Some fraudsters use sophisticated "skimming" devices placed over the card slot. They record the details on the card's magnetic strip while a miniature camera records the PIN number.

The criminals, believed to be mainly eastern Europeans working for international gangs, can then make replica cards and start taking cash from the account.

The skimmer devices cost about £1,000 each.

A major police inquiry, Operation Keypad, was launched in March by Brighton CID, when complaints first started flooding in.

The problem is now so severe that some banks, such as Abbey and Barclays, have reduced the maximum amount customers can withdraw in a day. Other banks have put warning notices on their machines.

Police have seized several phoney cash machine slots. One was discovered in the city centre only yesterday.

Kevin Robinson, 33, of Windmill Copse, Storrington, lost his life savings of £4,820 to a cashpoint scam when a gang cloned his bank card in September.

Other victims included mother-of-two Anne Robertson, from Patcham, who lost £4,000, and teaching assistant Candice O'Riordan, 18, who lost £350.

Other common forms of cash machine fraud include "shoulder surfing", where a thief loiters to read a customer's PIN. Another fraud, the "Lebanese loop", fools victims into thinking the cash dispenser has swallowed their card.

Chip and Pin will make it harder for thieves to get away with these and other scams such as noting credit card details at a bar or restaurant.

But with Chip and Pin, customers just tap in their number in a machine and there is no magnetic strip.

A spokesman for the Association of Payment Clearance Services said cardholders should check their accounts regularly to spot bogus transactions. Customers are also advised to shield their PIN from view and have a different PIN for every card.