The Budapest Metropolitan Police has issued a warning about criminals targeting foreigners using ATMs in central Budapest.
According to the statement, the criminal group has targeted people in what is known as the party district area of district 7. As part of the scam, the offenders approached their victims near ATMs and offered to help them withdraw cash – often claiming that if the language of the machine is set to Hungarian, there will be no transaction fee deducted. At other times they claimed that the ATM had malfunctioned, and while escorting the distracted victim to another nearby ATM, another member of the perpetrator’s group took the cash left in the original machine.
An investigation by the precinct of the capital’s 7th district is underway, with 22 perpetrators from the same circle having been questioned. Although the number of these offences has dropped significantly in recent weeks, the Budapest Metropolitan Police call for awareness when withdrawing cash from ATMs, adding that in case someone was targeted this way, they should call 112.
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