A teenage boy, who within minutes twice stole sums of €200 from the same man as he withdrew money from bank machines, has been remanded on bail pending sentence.
The boy (17), from Romania, pleaded guilty to four charges for theft of sums of €200 from three different people at an ATM on Dublin's Merrion Row, on May 16th. He also admitted the attempted theft of €200 from a woman on the same date at the bank machine.
He netted €800 within 40 minutes and successfully targeted the same victim twice.
The Dublin Children's Court heard that the boy, who was accompanied to court by an adult cousin, had no previous convictions. He was complying with his bail conditions which stated he "must stay away from ATMs and out of the Dublin 1 and Dublin 2 areas".
Judge Smyth was told the boy, who lives in west Dublin, was facing other charges in September. He adjourned sentencing until then and for a probation report on the teen to be obtained.
Earlier the court heard a description of how the scam, which involves the use of distraction and sleight of hand, worked.
A person goes to the ATM, inserts the bank card and then keys in the PIN number. Just then, the person is approached by people who wave a magazine in front of his face and blocks the ATM screen and keypad. While the person is distracted one of them, presses the button to withdraw €200. The money pops out and is taken swiftly while the account holder is distracted and oblivious to what is happening.
Eventually the thief backs off, the person looks at the screen which reads "transaction completed" but sees no money. A later check of their bank balance shows, however, that €200 has been withdrawn.