HIGH-TECH fraudsters could be ripping off customers to the tune of thousands of pounds at a busy Minehead supermarket cashpoint.

A three-man gang is thought to be targeting the cash dispensing machine at Tesco, Minehead, in a 'skimming' scam after a male was seen to place an electronic card reader in it on Saturday, police said.

Now police have warned people using cash machines to be extra vigilant and report anything suspicious immediately.

The alarm was raised when a security guard noticed the man acting suspiciously near the hole-in-the-wall cash machine at the Seaward Way store at around 11am.

The man was described as white and aged about 40. He was 5ft 10in and of medium to stocky build, and wore casual clothing.

Police believe he was working with two other males in a green Vauxhall Vectra. A card reader, used by the swindlers to record card details, was retrieved from the cash machine and is undergoing forensic tests.