Declan Murphy, 35, sentenced to 27 months for stealing gym members' locker pins and hacking their bank accounts.
A man from Bromley, England, has been sentenced to 27 months in jail for using gym members’ locker codes to access their bank accounts. Declan Murphy, 35, pleaded guilty to three counts of theft and 11 counts of fraud by false representation on January 17, 2025. He was also given a “Criminal Behaviour Order” that bans him from entering certain gyms nationwide.
Declan Murphy. Photo: City of London Police/X
Murphy’s scheme came to light after he used a series of false membership cards to access multiple gym chains in London. The incident that led to his arrest occurred on September 13, 2024, when he was in a gym between 8:10 and 9:25 a.m. Murphy observed a fellow gym member entering their locker pin, which was a four-digit code. The man did not realise that Murphy was watching as he entered the code.
Using the information, Murphy later gained access to the victim’s locker and stole both the victim’s bank cards and his phone. The phone was damaged beyond use, likely to prevent the victim from monitoring his bank transactions and immediately contacting his financial institutions. The damage to the phone provided Murphy with a window of opportunity to withdraw £500 from an ATM and attempt a purchase worth £5,400 at an Apple Store. The transaction was declined, but the theft and fraud were successful in part.
Murphy had committed similar offences earlier that year, with the September incident taking place while he was out on bail. Authorities also revealed that Murphy had been using gym membership cards under false names to access a variety of gyms, enabling him to target unsuspecting members.
The judge overseeing Murphy’s sentencing, Edward Connell, labelled the crimes “pre-planned” and “well-practised.” Detective Chief Inspector Kevin Ines from the City of London Police issued a warning to gym-goers about the need for caution when using locker codes. He urged people not to use the same pin for their gym lockers, phones, and bank cards, as it can provide criminals like Murphy with an easy way to exploit vulnerabilities.
“This case is a reminder that gym-goers should take care when entering their pin codes and ensure that they don’t reuse the same pin across multiple services,” said Ines. He continued, “People expect their belongings to be safe in their lockers, but unfortunately, this method of crime is becoming more common.”
As part of his sentence, Murphy has been banned from several health and fitness centres across the UK. His conviction highlights the increasing threat of personal security breaches in places where people typically feel their property is secure, such as gyms.
