A Connecticut woman who is also a citizen of Romania was sentenced to 36 months of imprisonment for her role in an ATM "skimming" scheme.

 

According to court documents, Gina Gheorghe, Victor Vasile Constantin, also a Romanian citizen, and others participated in a scheme whereby they secretly installed "skimming" devices on ATMs at various Bank of America branches in Fairfield County, CT. The devices were able to capture the information encoded on the magnetic strips of bank debit cards used by ATM customers.

 

They also placed devices on the ATMs that contained hidden pinhole cameras, which were positioned in such a way as to be able to record the personal identification numbers that bank customers punched into the ATMs to gain access to their accounts. The group then used this stolen information to create counterfeit bank cards that allowed them to withdraw funds from the customers' accounts, the documents say.