Detectives from the Financial Crime Squad have charged two men allegedly associated with over $100,000 worth of fraudulent card skimming transactions linked to a Romanian organised crime syndicate.
The two men, a 22-year-old Polish national and a 35-year-old Romanian national, were extradited from Queensland on Saturday.
Both men have been charged with conspiracy to defraud and remanded to appear at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Monday, 6 November.
Investigators will allege the men are involved in at least 44 events of using cloned cards associated with the ‘deep skimming’ insert device, fraudulently withdrawing at least $102,000.
Police believe the men had been utilising disguises including glasses, face masks and scarves as well as using a hire vehicle which had been hired using assumed identities.
The investigation commenced in June of this year when police became aware of a number of card skimming events specifically targeting NAB and Commonwealth Bank ATMs throughout Victoria, Queensland and New South Wales.
It will be alleged that those involved are a Romanian organised crime syndicate which is globally transient and specifically targets financial institutions via the use of highly sophisticated means, including deep insert skimming devices.
Police believe those involved were inserting card skimming devices in ATMs to fraudulently obtain victim’s bank card data, including card details and PIN numbers.
The cloned cards were then used at multiple ATMs throughout Victoria and Australia to access money belonging to the victims.
The investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with information on fraudulent activity is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au.
