Over 100 residents of Bobov Dol, a town in Southwest Bulgaria, have fallen victim to a debit card scam.

According to Greti Aleksova, Mayor of Bobov Dol, a total of over BGN 6000 was siphoned from locals' debit cards on Wednesday.

The thieves most probably used electronic skimming machines placed on ATMs to withdraw the money from the accounts.

The first to complain from the fraud were 23 women, employees of an Italian tailoring workshop in the town.

The offenders are believed to have targeted Bobov Dol because thousands of former miners receive maximum pensions and supposedly have more cash on their debit cards.

Representatives of banks with units in Bobov Dol are cooperating with the police to shed light on the matter.

It remains unclear which of the total of four ATMs in the town were adjusted with card cloning devices enabling the withdrawals.

Aleksova has expressed hopes that the banks will partially cover the losses incurred by the fraudsters.