2 Romanian citizens arrested for bank card fraud in Sydney and Melbourne

2 Romanian citizens arrested for bank card fraud in Sydney and Melbourne

The couple were sentenced to two and four years in prison respectively after months of investigations led by the AFP.

Two Romanian nationals living in the Sydney suburb of Rhodes were sentenced to prison on August 30 after pleading guilty to a series of offences related to bank card fraud.

Specifically, the two – a 34-year-old man and a 33-year-old woman – installed credit card shimmers on ATMs in Sydney and Melbourne.

Shimmers are small devices that look like a spacer on the card slot of an ATM and are able to record card details. The pair then used these account details to withdraw $36,000 from their victims’ accounts.

The AFP-led Joint Policing Cybercrime Coordination Centre (JPC3) began investigating the pair in June after receiving a tip-off from US intelligence about a shipment of ATM shimmers to Australia.

The JPC3 was able to link the shipment to the two Romanians, and AFP officers observed both the installation of the devices and the withdrawal of funds from compromised accounts at bank branches. The AFP executed a search warrant on the couple’s home in August and seized shimming devices, fake IDs, card readers and other electronic devices, as well as $12,935 in cash.

The man pleaded guilty to seven charges related to the fraud, the woman to four. The man was sentenced to four years and two months in prison, suspended for two and a half years. The woman received a prison sentence of two years and six months, suspended for one and a half years.

The AFP assumes that the two will be deported after their release.

“This investigation is a great example of the work of the JPC3. The information sharing and joint investigations between the USSS, banks and state and territory police partners have helped us identify and prosecute cyber criminals who defraud, steal from and con innocent Australians,” AFP Detective Superintendent Tim Stainton said in a statement.

“Criminals shamelessly use every means at their disposal to exploit people for their own greedy profits – at the expense of Australians who are already struggling.

“This should remind us that your criminal acts can always be prosecuted, no matter where you are, and the AFP will not hesitate to bring you to justice.”