Cash card fraudsters receive jail sentence (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Cash card fraudsters receive jail sentence

TWO Romanian men have been jailed for their part in trying to defraud shoppers in Cirencester by scanning their cash cards.

Georgy Galak, 22, of St Leonards Close, Grays, and Catalin Dura, of Titley close, Chingford, had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to conspiracy to defraud on December 19.

At Gloucester Crown Court on Friday, Lynne Matthews, prosecuting, said there had been a conspiracy to clone credit and debit cards at the HSBC cash dispenser in Cirencester last Christmas.

She said that Dura had attached a cloning device called a "portable data collector" that stored the cars information to the cash machine and then a camera that could be used to see their PIN number.

Miss Matthews said several people used the cash dispenser and the details of four accounts were found to have been copied. None were abused.

She said information could be downloaded onto a computer and the reprinted onto another card with a magnetic strip and used as a legitimate banking card.

Giles Nelson, defending Galak, said his client was a minor member of a much bigger group targeting cash dispensers.

He said Galak was merely a "foot soldier", sent out while those higher up the chain often got away Scot free.

Susheel Bellara, defending Dura, said his client was a young man who slept rough and had his vulnerability abused.

He said Dura was a man ideal for luring into this type of offence where money was involved.

Judge Paul Darlow said that both men must appreciate that it was such a serious offence that the custody threshold had been passed.

"I accept that neither of you were a main player and that others were involved higher up the chain who have escaped detection.

"But both of you were involved in using sophisticated equipment to clone credit cards and it must have been apparent to you that you were assisting a criminal organisation.

"It's a sad day indeed when a small Gloucestershire town has to be protected from organised gangs such as this."

Both men were jailed for two and a half years.