An Auckland man will spend two years in prison after attempting to smuggle card skimming equipment into the country.
Rimamotu Tiavare, 40, was convicted yesterday on one charge for knowingly importing goods for dishonest purposes.
It comes after Customs officers in May 2022 intercepted a package from the US containing two card-skimming devices concealed in a car stereo.
After the discovery, an investigation was launched, and during a search warrant at Tiavare's home, cash, notes with card skimming instructions and phones used to search for ATMs were found.
Customs said his 25 month-prison sentence reflected active police charges against him, including using forged documents, money laundering and accessing a computer system for dishonest purposes.
Card skimming is the process of inserting a device that reads credit card information, allowing the offender to access the card owner's money.
"Criminals also attach pinhole cameras hidden around the ATM to obtain the PIN number of the card," chief Customs officer for fraud and prohibition Nigel Barnes said.
"The stolen data is later cloned onto blank cards, which are then used by the offenders at ATMs to withdraw money, or sold to overseas third parties for profit.
"In this case, the insert devices found by Customs were later found to be harder to detect by banks and ATM users."
He urged anyone using ATMs to remain vigilant, suggesting people "cover up when entering your pin".
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