Bulgarian to Spend 3 Years in US Jail for ATM Fraud

The brothers would approach ATMs as if they were customers, and instead use double-sided tape to affix pinhole cameras and skimming devices that were spray painted silver to match the color of the machines, officials charged. File photo

A Bulgarian national will spend at least three years in prison for affixing skimming devices and cameras to chase ATMs in New York, the New York Post reported.

Manhattan Supreme Court delivered the sentence on Wednesday.

Prosecutors say Nikolay Ivanov, 31, and his brother Jordan -- who remains at large and is believed to be in Canada - rooked nearly 1,500 debit card users out of more than USD 180,000 in the clever scam.

The brothers would approach ATMs as if they were customers, and instead use double-sided tape to affix pinhole cameras and skimming devices that were spray painted silver to match the color of the machines, officials charged.

The skimmer was noticeable only as a green lip attached to the card slot, and would record the information on the magnetic strip of the customer's card.

Meanwhile, the pinhole camera would record the pin number.

The brothers would leave the devices in place for about four to six hours at a time, typically in broad daylight, prosecutors said.

They'd pass the card info on to unnamed co-conspirators, who would use it to encode blank cards used to make purchases and cash withdrawals in Arizona, Illinois and locations in Canada.

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