Three men have been jailed for a combined total of more than 13 years after a cash-machine fraud that took more than £40,000 from pensioners across Britain.
Ionut Matei, 40, Vasile Ciubotaru, 45, and Ramonel Mandache, 51, targeted customers at Halifax and Lloyds Bank branches over a period of almost two years. One victim lost £11,100 before discovering the theft.
The scheme began with one man watching a customer enter their PIN. As the customer finished at the machine, another dropped a banknote behind them and tapped their shoulder to ask if it was theirs. During the distraction, an accomplice exchanged the customer's bank card for a similar-looking one. CCTV captured the method.
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