Two fraudsters who scammed Salford ATM users and recorded their PIN numbers using devices fixed to the machines were jailed at Manchester Crown Court on Tuesday.
Marinel Codreanu, 33, and Daniel Caldararu, 35, both of Cromwell Avenue, Rusholme, both pleaded guilty to having in their possession or their control an article for use in the course of or in connection with fraud.
Codreanu was also convicted in relation to similar offences in Longsight, Oldham and Chorlton and he was jailed for 15 months and Caldararu for six months.
Sergeant Mark Gingell said: “Organised fraudsters will do whatever they can to take what does not belong to them and are continually looking for ways to get their hands on your money.
“It is almost impossible to tell sometimes when an ATM has been tampered with so we would always urge people to disguise as much as possible their PIN when entering it at machines and if they have any suspicious at all to ring the bank and police.”
The conmen were discovered on July 15 when a man tried to use the ATM at the Post Office on Bolton Road, Pendlebury, but found his card was swallowed.
After waiting for half an hour he phoned the bank and warned other people not to use it. At the same time another member of the public became wary of two men who kept returning to the area and he spotted them remove a device from the ATM.
The police were called and the bystander followed the men who ran off but he chased Codreanu and detained him. He then walked him back to police and also informed them that he had seen him throw something away during the chase.
Officers then found the device that had been fixed to the ATM and that would have been used to record customers entering PIN numbers.
Another witness who had seen the two offenders being chased later spotted Caldararu hiding in bushes. She pointed out his whereabouts to a police dog handler and he was also later arrested.
Sergeant Mark Gingell added: “Without question the three witnesses have between them prevented local residents falling foul of this scam and played a pivotal role in helping us detain both fraudsters.
“All three are equally worthy of praise and their actions were without doubt exceptionally public spirited.”
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