by Keith Hunt

A devious gang robbed banks and customers of cash after setting up sophisticated equipment at cash machines, a court heard.

The three Romanians installed false fascias to ATMs in the south east and even disguised mobile phones to record card details in the "livery" of banks targeted.

A judge heard it was impossible to estimate the amount stolen by Colin Claudiu, Georgeta Neferu and her boyfriend David Moldovan, who were jailed after admitting conspiracy to steal and possessing articles for use in fraud.

Moldovan, 49, was sentenced to four years, Neferu, 27, to three years and Claudiu, 24, to two-and-a-half years.

Maidstone Crown Court heard when police raided Moldovan and Neferu’s home in East Ham, east London, they found a "small factory" producing the equipment used.

Anthony Prosser, prosecuting, said the method used was simple. Guided by satellite navigation and armed with postcodes of banks they travelled all over the south east.

A false fascia was placed over the card slots of ATMs to fool unsuspecting customers.

"In order to record the PIN, the conspirators had adapted and painted small mobile phone cameras they would attach above the keypad," said Mr Prosser.

The card was swallowed up and once the holder had left, gang members would return and remove it along with the fascia.

The card would then be used at other ATMs to withdraw the maximum amount of cash allowed.

Mr Prosser said Claudiu, Neferu and Moldovan were arrested on October 16 last year after CCTV camera operators saw them acting suspiciously at Barclay’s Bank in Tonbridge.

After Moldovan pulled something from the top of the ATM, they moved to a lay-by near the Nat West branch in Castle Street.

Neferu was found to have a list of 26 postcodes for mainly Barclay’s branches around the south east, including Tonbridge, Sevenoaks and Maidstone.

Mr Prosser said it would be a "herculean task" to estimate the loss to banks and customers. "It is another element of the sophistication," he added.

Claudiu, Neferu and Moldovan, he said, could not be deported as they were citizens of the European Union.