Sydney police arrested a Romanian duo after skimming $3.7 million from victims
- Replies 5
It’s hard (and sometimes stressful) it is to keep your cash safe and secure, especially in this day and age of constantly advancing technology.
But it bears repeating that when it comes to our hard-earned savings, we have to be extra vigilant and cautious.
This comes after reports that two men have been recently arrested in Sydney for allegedly taking part in an alarmingly lucrative card skimming network.
Police searched a home in Wolli Creek earlier this week and found stolen bank details from more than 1,000 people, over 1,500 blank cards, and card skimming devices.
In a second address in the same region, the police seized cash worth $50,000, electronic devices, and designer products.
The police believed they would be uncovering more compromised bank details upon searching the devices they’d found.
They also shared that unsuspecting customers' card details and PIN numbers were reportedly stolen from ATMs scattered across the country using the skimming devices.
The devices were allegedly placed in ATMs all over Australia, but mostly in Sydney’s CBD. It is believed that the scheme is part of a transnational card skimming network based in Romania.
Based on the number and capacity of the blank cards found at the scene, the police estimated that the whole scheme was worth more than $3.7 million in total.
According to Detective Superintendent Gordon Arbinja, who is also the Financial Crimes’ Squad Commander, the two suspects had entered the country with false passports.
'We allege that this group came here for the specific purpose of targeting ordinary and innocent Australians,' he said.
The police also later retrieved a phone off the balcony, which one of the men allegedly threw out during the search.
'One of the offenders is alleged to have thrown his phone off a 10-storey apartment from the balcony onto the Princes Highway,' Detective Superintendent Arbinja said.
'This group has got their fingerprints all over the area, they've had it in the United States and in Europe and all over Asia as well.'
He also informed those whose information had been compromised could expect to hear from their bank.
Moreover, the police were also reportedly pursuing another individual who may be part of the operation.
'We [now] have at least one member that is still within Australia, and further descriptions of that individual will be made at a later time for the public to assist us in locating that offender,' he said.
Meanwhile, the 40-year-old and 43-year-old charged with offences—which include possessing equipment to make false documents and participating in group criminal activity—have been refused bail and are due to appear in Sutherland Local Court.
This comes after news reports that five foreign nationals were apprehended in a joint effort by Australian and US authorities for an alleged high-tech bank fraud involving ATM skimmers and fake bank cards.
In an investigation by the United States Secret Service (USSS), these five individuals were allegedly part of the same international crime ring that allegedly scammed US citizens receiving welfare benefits via electronic benefits transfer cards earlier this year.
According to authorities, the alleged offenders installed ATM skimmers to clone victims' electronic benefits transfer card details and PINs. At the start of each month, the crime syndicate re-encoded the cloned bank cards to visit ATMs and withdraw the newly loaded funds.
You can read more about this scam here.
Members, what are your thoughts on this story? Do you have some tips on how to avoid being scammed? Let us know in the comments below!
But it bears repeating that when it comes to our hard-earned savings, we have to be extra vigilant and cautious.
This comes after reports that two men have been recently arrested in Sydney for allegedly taking part in an alarmingly lucrative card skimming network.
Police searched a home in Wolli Creek earlier this week and found stolen bank details from more than 1,000 people, over 1,500 blank cards, and card skimming devices.
In a second address in the same region, the police seized cash worth $50,000, electronic devices, and designer products.
Romanian duo arrested for an alleged ATM scam. Image source: fanjianhua on Freepik.
The police believed they would be uncovering more compromised bank details upon searching the devices they’d found.
They also shared that unsuspecting customers' card details and PIN numbers were reportedly stolen from ATMs scattered across the country using the skimming devices.
The devices were allegedly placed in ATMs all over Australia, but mostly in Sydney’s CBD. It is believed that the scheme is part of a transnational card skimming network based in Romania.
Based on the number and capacity of the blank cards found at the scene, the police estimated that the whole scheme was worth more than $3.7 million in total.
According to Detective Superintendent Gordon Arbinja, who is also the Financial Crimes’ Squad Commander, the two suspects had entered the country with false passports.
'We allege that this group came here for the specific purpose of targeting ordinary and innocent Australians,' he said.
The police also later retrieved a phone off the balcony, which one of the men allegedly threw out during the search.
'One of the offenders is alleged to have thrown his phone off a 10-storey apartment from the balcony onto the Princes Highway,' Detective Superintendent Arbinja said.
'This group has got their fingerprints all over the area, they've had it in the United States and in Europe and all over Asia as well.'
He also informed those whose information had been compromised could expect to hear from their bank.
Moreover, the police were also reportedly pursuing another individual who may be part of the operation.
'We [now] have at least one member that is still within Australia, and further descriptions of that individual will be made at a later time for the public to assist us in locating that offender,' he said.
Meanwhile, the 40-year-old and 43-year-old charged with offences—which include possessing equipment to make false documents and participating in group criminal activity—have been refused bail and are due to appear in Sutherland Local Court.
This comes after news reports that five foreign nationals were apprehended in a joint effort by Australian and US authorities for an alleged high-tech bank fraud involving ATM skimmers and fake bank cards.
In an investigation by the United States Secret Service (USSS), these five individuals were allegedly part of the same international crime ring that allegedly scammed US citizens receiving welfare benefits via electronic benefits transfer cards earlier this year.
According to authorities, the alleged offenders installed ATM skimmers to clone victims' electronic benefits transfer card details and PINs. At the start of each month, the crime syndicate re-encoded the cloned bank cards to visit ATMs and withdraw the newly loaded funds.
You can read more about this scam here.
.png){kind=icon}
