A man and a woman have been sentenced over their roles in a $36,000 scam that saw card readers known as “shimmers” installed inside ATMs in Melbourne and Sydney.
The thin metal devices were inserted into the card reading slots of the ATMs and used to clone the credit card information of their victims.
After reading the data on the cards magnetic strip and chip, the pair attended banks to withdraw money using stolen card data, the Australian Federal Police said.
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A joint police investigation was alerted when people in Australia received packages from the UK, US, and China believed to contain the ATM “shimmers”.
Throughout the investigation, the two Romanian Nationals, were seen installing the devices in ATMs in Melbourne and Sydney.
They then withdrew or transferred money from bank accounts using the stolen card information.
After searching a Rhodes address in Sydney, police seized $12,935 in cash, several of the shimming devises, false identity documents, some electronic devices, card readers and sim cards.
The man, 34, pleaded guilty to possessing a thing used to obtain financial information, dealing with proceeds of crime, dishonestly dealing financial information, and attempting to dishonestly obtain personal financial information.
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He also pleaded guilty to providing false travel documents and giving false information.
He was sentenced to four years and two months in jail, with a non-parole period of two years and six months.
The woman, 33, pleaded guilty to possessing a thing used to obtain financial information, dealing with proceeds of crime, dishonestly dealing financial information, and attempting to dishonestly obtain personal financial information.
She was sentenced to two years and six months imprisonment. She will be eligible for parole in February 2025.
The pair are both expected to be deported after they are released from jail.
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