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Authorities Wednesday urged bank customers to be extra vigilant when using outdoor ATMs after foreign nationals were arrested for running a distraction theft operation to steal victims’ ATM cards and PIN codes.
Three Romanian nationals were arrested last month as investigators tracked them down for a scheme from November 2025, the Orange County Sheriffs Department said.
The suspects worked as a team and followed a potential victim to the ATM on Santiago Boulevard in the city of Villa Park, according to investigators.
Surveillance video from the alleged crime scene shows, as the victim is finishing his transaction with his ATM card still being in the machine, one of the suspects appears to drop crash at the victim’s feet, get his attention and make him pick up the money.
As the victim is distracted for a few seconds, the second suspect appears to swap the victim’s ATM card with a fake one, the video shows. The suspects then used the stolen ATM card and PIN code to get cash and make purchases, the sheriff’s department said.
After the victim reported the crime, the sheriff’s department launched a months-long investigation, concluding there was a pattern of distraction thefts happening in Orange, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, San Francisco and Sacramento counties,
“The suspects typically follow the victim to the parking lot and attempt to distract them by dropping cash on the ground and insisting it belongs to the victim,” the sheriff’s department in a statement. “This ultimately causes enough of a distraction to allow the suspects to steal the victim’s debit card and make numerous bank withdrawals prior to the victim having knowledge of the theft of the debit card.”
The three people arrested for the November theft was identified as Romita Achitei, 61, Paul Agafitei, 43, and George Asafiei, 46, They are facing multiple felony charges, including grand theft, identity theft and forgery.
Criminals who conduct distraction theft operations often rehearse their routines in advance so they could be convincing to their potential targets, the investigators added. And their crime scenes can be beyond outdoor ATMs as they may try to steal victims’ PIN codes at grocery stories or retailers.
Orange County authorities urged people to cover the keypad while using ATMs or debt card machines while being wary of strangers.
“If someone approaches you, make sure to keep your distance and do not allow any stranger within arm’s reach,” the sheriff’s department said
Anyone who may have been victimized in distraction thefts was asked to call the OC Sheriff’s Department at 714-647-7000.
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