The Police in Abilene, a city of 120,000 in west-central Texas, have warned the residents about an influx of Roma people of Romanian nationality who are using several illegal ways to scam money from citizens and businesses across the U.S.

"They have made their way into Abilene and are suspected of using home repair scams and quick change scams, among many others, to steal money from individuals and businesses,” reads a statement from the Abilene Police Department.

In November 2015, the police identified three Romanians as suspects who placed a skimmer device in a bank ATM gaining hundreds of First Financial Bank customer’s financial information and stealing thousands from the bank. They are also believed to be the people behind several home repair scams where they go door-to-door work to the homeowner, asking for money up-front and never following through with any work.

In the statement, the Police warn Abilene citizens that these individuals mainly target the elderly, as well as Wal-Mart stores and its customers, and they even use children to help garner trust from their targets in hopes of scamming more money from individuals.

The Police say that these suspects have hit many other Texas cities. They are believed to live in larger cities and branch out into smaller cities like Abilene where they perform their scams in travelling groups.

“This organized crime ring has worked in 20 states including Texas,” the statement reads.

Romanian nationals have been involved in several scam operations in the U.S. For example, Alin Carabus admitted last November to being part of a large ATM theft scheme in the U.S., and pleaded guilty to bank fraud before a U.S. judge. He was part of a crime ring that managed to steal more than USD 5 million from thousands of American bank customers by using card-reading devices installed in ATMs. A total of 15 people were convicted in this case.

In September, Romanian hacker Mircea-Ilie Ispasoiu, 31, received a three-year prison sentence in the U.S. for orchestrating an identity theft scheme that stole data from American firms.

The most famous Romanian hacker, known as Guccifer, was sentenced to 52 months in prison by a U.S. court last September. He was accused of breaking into computer accounts of the Bush family, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, and others.

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Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com