Fraudsters caught in cash machine fiddle

A plastic slip to hold onto bank cards when inserted into the cashpoint and a hidden camera to record pin numbers were fitted to the ATM outside Barclays Bank in Lichfield Street, Walsall. Just one person was caught up in the ploy by Sorinel Dan and Viorel Mihut before police were alerted to the scam. As a result no money was taken.

The pair pleaded guilty to possession of an article for use in the course of or in connection with fraud at Walsall Magistrates Court yesterday.

The two men, from London, used a plastic strip which is placed into the ATM to hold onto the card. As customers leave believing the card has been swallowed, it is then removed by the criminals.

Mr Colin Heald, prosecuting, said witnesses saw two men acting suspiciously outside the bank on Friday evening. Later one man tried to use the cashpoint but was seen struggling to get his card back.

Police were called and after watching CCTV the men were seen interfering with the machine. The next morning detectives followed the pair to the cash machine where Mihut was seen putting an object onto it.

When approached by police he dropped a pair of pliers and Dan was seen with a plastic slip containing a camera. Although the bank card is still to be traced, no money has been withdrawn. Police are now investigating if other machines have been targeted. Mr Glyn Whitehouse, defending, said the men were caught red-handed but it was not an elaborate plot. "What we have got is two bungling incompetants who have been given certain items and dispatched to the West Midlands," he added.

Dan, aged 38, of Clifford Road, London, and Mihut, 35, of Leyton, London, will appear at Wolverhampton Crown Court on August 3 for sentencing. The pair were refused bail and remanded in custody.