Two arrested after series of ATM skimmer reports

The police have arrested two Romanian men in relation to an investigation that was launched after receiving several reports of skimmers being attached to ATM machines.

According to police, the arrests were made on Saturday in Gzira and Qawra, and the two are expected to be arraigned in court later on today.

One of the men was arrested while reportedly withdrawing cash at an ATM in Qawra and the other was as he was doing the same in Gzira, after being identified on CCTV footage.

State media reported that the arrests were made after one of the banks was alerted by a client, who had received an automatic text message informing him that money had been withdrawn from his account, when he had not withdrawn any.

The two arrested men are said to form part of a group which has defrauded around 10,000 cards with a total of €10,000 being withdrawn illegally.

Affected ATMs reportedly include those in Bugibba, Qawra, Mosta, Rabat, Zejtun, Bulebel, Marsaxlokk, Valletta, Zabbar and Fgura.