Bande conduse de romani violenti se afla in spatele milioanelor de lire sterline furate anual din bancomatele britanice, relateaza "Manchester online". Potrivit sursei citate, infractorii sunt adusi in Marea Britanie de retele de trafic de carne vie conduse de romani, fiind obligati de acestia sa "lucreze" pentru a-si plati cheltuielile de transport.

Politia locala crede chiar ca unii dintre hoti sunt amenintati ca, in cazul in care nu-si fac datoria, familiile lor din Romania vor fi supuse la violente fizice. Publicatia explica metodele folosite de infractori pentru a devaliza bancomatele britanice, din care numai in 2003 s-au furat circa 40 de milioane de lire sterline.

Cea mai folosita metoda este cea a clonarii cardurilor, care presupune lucrul in echipe de doi infractori.

In timp ce unul dintre ei isi face treaba la bancomat, cel de-al doilea sta la coada ca orice client oarecare, pentru a-l acoperi. In mai putin de un minut, hotul aflat la bancomat introduce in aparat un card fals ce contine un scanner care citeste si inmagazineaza toate informatiile continute de banda magnetica aflata pe spatele cardului.

Dupa aceea, ei monteaza deasupra bancomatului o bucatica mica de plastic colorat ce contine un set de baterii, o camera minuscula ce inregistreaza persoanele si codul PIN, precum si un transmitator. Imaginile sunt apoi preluate de un videorecorder amplasat la cateva sute de metri, in portbagajul unei masini.

In acest fel, victimele nu au nici cea mai mica idee ca detaliile cardurilor bancare le-au fost copiate, infractorii reusind sa fure zilnic sumele maxime admise pana cand posesorii de drept isi dau seama ca le-au fost devalizate conturile.

Adevarul - 5 iunie 2004

Hi-tech hole in the wall gangs

VIOLENT Romanian gangsters are behind a multi-million pound hi-tech cashpoint scam in Manchester.

In the second part of the M.E.N.'s focus on fraud, we can reveal that a team of Eastern Europeans are using a complex electronic system allowing them to rip-off people using "hole in the wall" cash machines.

Using a mixture of credit card scanning equipment, tiny cameras and microwave transmitters, the teams of mainly young men have managed to plunder accounts.

It is believed the gangs are being controlled by human traffickers in Romania who have smuggled them into the UK. In some cases they are "working" to pay back their transportation fees.

But police also believe that in some more sinister cases they are being forced to work by threats of violence against their families in their home countries.

The techniques are the latest in a long line of increasingly complex counterfeit card frauds which can bring in thousands of pounds before the alarm is raised.

Cashpoint fraud across the UK has rocketed nearly five times in the last seven years, netting criminals £40m in 2003.

In the Romanian scam, one man will work on the machine while a look-out poses as another customer lurking behind. In less than a minute they will slide in a false card slot containing a scanner which reads and stores information on the magnetic strips on the back of cards.

They will then mount an anonymous-looking piece of silver coloured plastic under the top of the cashpoint.

This contains a couple of batteries, a tiny pinhole camera which records people keying in their PIN numbers and a microwave transmitter.

Images are beamed by microwave to a video recorder placed up to a quarter of a mile away in a car boot.

Despite its complexities, we can expose how simple it is for anyone to source and build this type of equipment.

Within minutes of logging on to the internet, we were able to find a website showing potential fraudsters exactly how to mount a similar operation.

The gangs have already targeted the ASDA superstore in Trafford but were foiled after a shopper alerted staff after noticing changes to the cashpoint.

Sophisticated

The three-man gang escaped before being able to reclaim their sophisticated hardware, but not before they were captured on CCTV clearly installing the device.

In some areas of the country similar gangs have escaped with millions by producing so-called "cloned" credit cards from the skimmed details and the PIN numbers.

Because the victims are unaware their details have been copied, the gangs have used the cards and PINs to withdraw the maximum allowed day after day.

Det. Chief Insp. John Betts, who heads GMP's Economic Crime Section, said people should continue to use cashpoints but should look carefully to see if there's anything wrong.

"I always check the security slot before putting my card in to see if there is anything that does not look quite right," he said.

"Eastern Europeans have been arrested in the north west but have refused to give any details on how they got here, although we do know that many fear that the lives of their families in Romania are at risk."

Although banks will stand the loss if a card is skimmed, it will take the average person weeks to sort everything out.

Det Chief Insp Betts added: "When someone has had access to your personal details you have been the victim of theft and you probably don't know where or when it has happened. It causes people to lose faith in organisations they have trusted for years."

Other less sophisticated techniques have been used for some time by gangs, including a crude method of capturing cashpoint cards with a device called the "Lebanese Loop".

Cashpoint users put their cards into the machine but are unable to get them out because the loop of tape or wire traps them. One criminal acts as a Good Samaritan and escorts the victim away, offering to help report it. Meanwhile the second retrieves the card.

This technique was used successfully at Sainsbury's in Altrincham last month and police are currently talking to two victims.

Click on the link below to see a gang of crooks tampering with a cash-point machine in broad daylight.

Manchester