Two Romanians have been jailed after using ‘shimming’ devices to clone their victims’ card information at ATMs and steal $36,000.
A 34-year-old man and 33-year-old woman were respectively sentenced to four years and two years behind bars on Friday after installing shimmers on ATMs across Sydney and Melbourne.
‘ATM shimmers are thin, card-sized metal devices that act like a spacer when inserted into the card slot of an ATM,’ the Australian Federal Police said in a statement.
‘The devices are designed to record the data on the card magnetic stripe and chip, which can then be accessed later by the offender when the shimmer is retrieved.’
AFP officers raided a home in Rhodes, Sydney’s Inner West, and the man and woman’s rented car in August 2023.
They seized $12,935 in cash, multiple shimming devices, false identity documents, electronic devices, card readers and SIM cards. The pair were arrested shortly after.
AFP launched its investigation into the scam after receiving an alert from the United States Secret Service about a consignment of ATM shimmers sent to Australia.
Investigators were able to identify the Romanians through a series of suspicious packages sent from the United Kingdom, China and the United States.
Two Romanians have been arrested after using ‘shimming’ ATM devices to clone victims’ card information and steal $36,000 (pictured, one of the scammers)
A 34-year-old man and 33-year-old woman were respectively sentenced to four years and two years behind bars on Friday after installing shimmers on ATMs (pictured, cash recovered from their property)
Officers later witnessed the pair installing the shimming devices in ATMs in Melbourne and Sydney before attending banks to withdraw or transfer money using stolen card data.
Both the man and woman pleaded guilty to several fraud charges in May and were sentenced to jail in Campbelltown District Court, Sydney, on Friday.
The man faces four years and two months’ imprisonment, with a non-parole period of two years and six months’.
The woman was sentenced to two years and six months’ imprisonment, with a non-parole period of one year and six months’.
She will be eligible for parole from 3 February 2025.
Both are expected to be deported after serving their sentences.
AFP detective superintendent Tim Stainton said the arrests were a ‘great example’ of the AFP-led Joint Policing Cybercrime Coordination Centre’s ability to crackdown on financial crimes.
Both the man and woman pleaded guilty to several fraud charges in May and were sentenced to jail in Campbelltown District Court, Sydney, on Friday (pictured, one of the scammers)
The pair used a ‘shimming’ device (pictured) to clone ATM users’ card information
‘The intelligence sharing and joint investigation between the USSS, banks and state and territory police partners has helped us identify and prosecute cyber criminals scamming, stealing and defrauding innocent Australians,’ he said.
‘Criminals will unashamedly use any tools they have available to exploit people for their own greedy profit, at the expense of Australians who are already doing it tough.
‘This should serve as a reminder that no matter where you are, your criminal actions can always be traced, and the AFP will not hesitate to bring you before the courts.’