May 20, 2026 — 3:26pmUnsuspecting shoppers across Brisbane have been caught up in a massive card-skimming operation, allegedly carried out by two Romanian nationals.The two men, aged 36 and 39, allegedly installed card-skimming devices at businesses and ATMs in no less than 48 Brisbane suburbs between February and May.They allegedly carried out the scam as far afield as Kingaroy, and Tugan on the Gold Coast, but mainly across inner-city, bayside and northern suburbs, including: Albany Creek, Arana Hills, Ashgrove, Aspley, Banyo, Beachmere, Boronia Heights, Brendale, Brighton, Bulimba, Caboolture, Chermside, Clayfield, Clontarf, Coorparoo, Dutton Park, Ferny Grove, Fortitude Valley, Gatton, Geebung, Grange, Hamilton, Highgate Hill, Indooroopilly, Kedron, Kenmore, Milton, Morningside, Mount Gravatt, Murrumba Downs, New Farm, Newstead, Northgate, Nundah, Sandgate, Stafford, Stones Corner, Strathpine, Taigum, Taringa, The Gap, Toowong, Upper Caboolture, Virginia, Wynnum and Zillmere.The pair were arrested when police raided a Boronia Heights home in Logan on Tuesday.Footage from police body-worn cameras shows an officer finding a large wad of cash in the pocket of one of the men during the search.Officers from the Indooroopilly criminal investigations branch seized $20,000 in cash, card-skimming devices, identification information, and template bank cards during the daylight raid.The large wad of cash found in the pocket of one of the alleged scammers.Queensland Police ServiceCard-skimming scams typically involve attaching a device to the outside of an ATM or card reader that records information encrypted on a person’s bank card, including their PIN.Card skimmers then create a new card with the information and use it to make unauthorised withdrawals.“Stealing anyone’s personal information and hard-earned money is a brazen offence that police will not tolerate,” said Detective Senior Sergeant Brendan Blyth, from the Indooroopilly CIB.“Police will take all reports of offences of this nature seriously.One of the alleged scammers is arrested at the Boronia Heights home.Queensland Police Service“If you believe you are a victim of fraudulent transactions, immediately notify your financial institution, report the matter to police, and seek any further support you need.”Both men have been charged with 195 offences each, including obtaining or dealing with identification information, fraud – dishonestly obtaining property from another, and possessing equipment for the purpose of committing an offence.They were refused police bail and were due to appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Wednesday.North Brisbane District Detective Inspector Daniel Cunningham said the men were not connected to three other Romanian nationals arrested over a card-theft scheme in March. He would not be drawn on potential links to a larger Romanian crime syndicate.Cunningham described the pair arrested this week as being “quite calculated in their offending”, adding: “There were a large number of people impacted by this offending.”He said police initially received reports from victims who noticed anomalies in their bank accounts.“As a result of that … we identified a trend that commenced the investigation,” he said.“We’re very fortunate that we have some excellent people in our intel services, and also detectives, that look for those trends.“It was quite apparent that there was some level of organisation that went into this offending.”Cunningham urged Brisbane consumers to remain vigilant when using ATMs.“Just be very present when you are using that machine, and look for things that don’t look right. Also make sure you protect your PIN number,” he said.From our partners