Thief told how to 'beat the system' with debit card scam

Ricardo De Freitas Correia, a 34-year-old Portuguese national with an address in Dublin 15, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to deception and theft offences. The charges related to incidents in May 2019 at retail locations in Blanchardstown, Clondalkin, Swords and Tallaght. Gardaí established that Correia had exploited a debit card processing vulnerability, removing cards when machines prompted him to do so, then swiping them again to complete purchases without entering PINs. He acquired approximately €400 worth of goods including a watch, video games, perfume and an electric toothbrush through this method. All property was recovered. The court heard Correia was acting under direction from another person. Judge Elma Sheahan described the offending as organised and noted Correia's considerable knowledge of circumventing security measures. She imposed a two-and-a-half-year sentence, fully suspended on condition of Probation Service supervision following completion of a sentence he was already serving.