A FATHER and daughter at the centre of a £120,000 credit-card 'skimming' scam have been jailed.

Cornel Oprea and Cornelia Oprea were caught with more than 500 people's card details on a computer when police raided their home in Longsight, Manchester.

Officers also found more than ?20,000 in cash and equipment for 'skimming' cards - a process where details from a genuine card are transferred on to a counterfeit card by manipulating the magnetic strip.

They recovered two false covers for ATM machines and a tiny camera which is believed to have been used to record people entering their PIN numbers.

The raid also uncovered devices for transferring information on to a computer so details could be emailed around the world.

Defraud

Cornel Oprea, 55, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud and possession of fraudulent passports and identity cards with intent to commit criminal offences. He was jailed for two years at Manchester crown court.

Daughter Cornelia Oprea, 33, pleaded guilty to possession of fraudulent identity cards and passports with intent to commit criminal offences. She was given a 12-month sentence.

The raid took place in June last year at the home where the Opreas were staying in Mackenzie Street.

It is believed more than £122,700 was fraudulently stolen. Detective Constable Ginette Smith, who led the investigation, said: "The Opreas were involved in a massive criminal enterprise.

"But no matter how sophisticated they may have thought their operation was, this should not disguise the fact it was theft - pure and simple. This father and daughter team set out to steal from innocent people by skimming their credit cards.

"Anyone who has been victim of this sort of crime knows how much distress it can cause and aside from the money being stolen, it feels like a gross invasion of privacy.

"I would urge people to be vigilant when using cash machines and always try to cover their PIN numbers when inputting them into the machine."