A gang of fraudsters stole £12,500 after fishing bank cards out of letterboxes using fly swatters covered in double-sided sticky tape.
They applied for the bank cards and pin numbers in the victims' names, then as they arrived in the post they pulled them back out if the letterbox.
Maidstone Crown Court heard Constantin Barbuc toured Maidstone’s “richest areas” targeting up to 10 victims in four months.
The fraudster was arrested while sat in his car when officers staking out the area found fly swatters covered in double-sided sticky tape inside his vehicle.
The leader of the gang was jailed for 19 months after confessing to three fraud charges.
Prosecutor Merrick Williams said the fraudster ordered cards in people’s names from 12 different banks, including American Express, Santander, NatWest, and Barclays.
Though around £12,500 was nicked, Mr Williams said police fear another £5,000 may have vanished.
Barbuc, from Maidstone, Kent, was sent to prison but served enough time awaiting sentence in custody so he could have been freed immediately.
Danny Moore, defending, said using the fly swatter showed the scam “wasn't the most sophisticated of frauds."
Judge Robert Lazarus told Barbuc: "The facts are that you, along with others, have taken out bank accounts in different names by using stolen details of legitimate people.
"You then, by means including the use of a fly-swatter in a fishing exercise, retrieved them from letter boxes.”
The Crown Prosecution Service has dropped charges against a second defendant and the court heard a third defendant is believed to have skipped bail.
It comes after a fraudster carer was jailed last week after stealing thousands from a 100-year-old widow.
Rhian Horsey, 55, from Cardiff, spent over eight years caring for Iris Samson and posed as her "guardian angel".
But, she was described as a "viper" after stealing from the trusting widow and forcing Iris to remortgage her home so she could spend on "extravagances including luxury holidays".
A Proceeds of Crime Act hearing was told that Rhian has £482,973 of available funds - and must pay back a compensation figure with interest of £445,901 within three months.
