While a few brave souls were taking money out from outside cashpoints, almost everyone we approached in the town said they no longer trusted cash machines unless they were inside a branch.
"I will use the outdoor ones, but only in an emergency now," said one woman who rushed off after spotting a parking warden bearing down on her car.
Simon Harvey, who lives in the town but works at a university in Norway, has had both his credit and debit card cloned by thieves in recent weeks.
"I had suspected it was something to do with the Shell petrol station but hadn't had any proof," he said.
"It's funny, my parents have long said that an over-reliance on bank cards was fraught with danger but, until now, I haven't worried. Having become a victim, I'm starting to think that maybe they have a point," he added.
One woman, who declined to give her name, said: "The banks are going to have to sort this problem out. I'm fed up with queuing to get out my money, but after what happened, I'm not prepared to risk the cashpoint out in the street. It may sound mad, but I know so many people who've lost money."
The ATM outside the Barclays bank branch had wires hanging out and had clearly been attacked.
"Don't worry, it still works fine," we were told by staff in the branch.
A spokeswoman for the UK banking payments body, APACS, said bank card losses abroad leapt 126 percent in the first half of this year, compared with the same period of last year. More than ?220 million will be stolen from UK cards outside the UK this year alone.
"Sadly, the recent events in Letchworth are not uncommon, and no worse than many other similar attacks that have occurred in towns across the UK," she said.
"However, it's worth noting that everyone affected will be reimbursed by the bank. The chances of having your bank cards skimmed are still very rare -- it is much safer than carrying around large amounts of cash," the spokeswoman said.
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