The cruel cash machine trick a gang used to steal £40,000 from pensioners

This is the moment a Romanian gang used a cash machine trick to steal over £40,000 from unsuspecting pensioners.

CCTV caught Ionut Matei, 40, Vasile Ciubotaru, 45, and Ramonel Mandache, 51, performing the sneaky scam, which saw them target vulnerable people inside Halifax and Lloyds Bank branches.

One of the men would drop a banknote on the floor behind a vulnerable victim, then the same person would then tap them on the shoulder to ask the person if they dropped the money on the floor.

While the victim was distracted, another thug – who had memorised the victim’s card number – would brazenly swap the bank cards out with a similar-looking one before fleeing.

The victim was unaware they were targeted after they retrieved their own card from the cash machine, police said.

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One of the moments captured on CCTV shows a Romanian gang using a cruel cash machine trick to steal over ?40,000 from unsuspecting pensioners. // Three members of an organised crime group (OCG) have been jailed for a combined total of more than 13 years after defrauding vulnerable and elderly victims across the country. One offender would position themselves close enough to see the victim entering their PIN, while another would distract them by drawing attention to a banknote deliberately placed on the floor nearby. While the victim's attention was diverted, a third member of the group would help steal the victim's bank card and replace it with a similar-looking card. Believing they had retrieved their own card from the cash machine, victims left the bank unaware they had been targeted. The offenders then used the stolen card and PIN to make cash withdrawals and purchases, often before victims realised what had happened. One victim lost ?11,100 over a period of almost two weeks before discovering they had become the victim of fraud. Other victims, many in their 70s and 80s, also lost significant sums of money. Photo released 22/10/2026 Photo released 23/10/2026

The offenders then used the stolen card and PIN to make cash withdrawals and purchases sometimes in excess of thousands of pounds.

On Monday, the scammers were sentenced to a combined total of more than 13 years at Liverpool Crown Court after pleading guilty to conspiracy to steal and conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation.

Matei, of no fixed abode, was jailed for five years and six months – he was also sentenced for knowingly entering the UK in breach of a deportation order.

Ciubotaru, of Balfour Road, Ilford, was sentenced to four years and eight months, and Mandache of Henniker Gardens, East Ham, London, received three years.

Detective Sergeant Stephanie Bland, Senior Investigating Officer for Operation Rages, said that alongside the significant financial losses, the gang’s actions had a ‘lasting impact’ on the victims.

One of the moments captured on CCTV shows a Romanian gang using a cruel cash machine trick to steal over ?40,000 from unsuspecting pensioners. // Three members of an organised crime group (OCG) have been jailed for a combined total of more than 13 years after defrauding vulnerable and elderly victims across the country. One offender would position themselves close enough to see the victim entering their PIN, while another would distract them by drawing attention to a banknote deliberately placed on the floor nearby. While the victim's attention was diverted, a third member of the group would help steal the victim's bank card and replace it with a similar-looking card. Believing they had retrieved their own card from the cash machine, victims left the bank unaware they had been targeted. The offenders then used the stolen card and PIN to make cash withdrawals and purchases, often before victims realised what had happened. One victim lost ?11,100 over a period of almost two weeks before discovering they had become the victim of fraud. Other victims, many in their 70s and 80s, also lost significant sums of money. Photo released 22/10/2026 Photo released 23/10/2026

The gang committed the offences between October 2024 and August 2026.

More than £40,000 was stolen from victims across Cheshire, Staffordshire, Nottinghamshire, Greater Manchester, South Yorkshire and Kent.

The gang’s actions were investigated as part of Operation Rages by Cheshire Police, a nationwide theft and fraud operation, including offences in Warrington and Widnes.

Detectives established that the offenders – all Romanian nationals – would travel across the country, specifically targeting elderly and vulnerable victims using cash machines inside the Halifax and Lloyds Bank branches.

The most affected victim lost £11,100 over a period of almost two weeks before discovering they had become the victim of fraud.

Det Sgt Bland added: ‘This was a highly organised criminal enterprise that deliberately targeted elderly and vulnerable members of the public for financial gain.

‘Operation Rages was a complex investigation spanning multiple force areas, but in policing there are no borders. And even though a majority of these offences occurred outside of Cheshire, our officers were determined to identify those responsible for these crimes, bring them before the courts, and provide reassurance to victims and the wider public.’

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