Skimming devices are illegally installed on ATMs and used by criminals to intercept cash or collect card data and PIN numbers for fraudulent activity.
Igor Murzac, 43, was seen loitering near a machine outside a shop in High Street in May.
The victim, who used the machine, noticed him watching as her cash withdrawal failed.
She reported the incident to staff inside the shop and to police.
Officers attended and saw Murzac driving away in a car. They searched the local area and managed to locate the vehicle and Murzac, who was walking along the road.
Officers arrested him on suspicion of criminal damage of the cash machine and discovered a skimming device and keys to the car discarded under a nearby hedge.
A further search of the car found items linked to the crime, including a crowbar, metal hooks, a sticky back card and scissors.
Officers later returned to the cash machine itself and removed a skimming device containing a wad of cash.
Murzac, of Ilford, Greater London, pleaded guilty to possessing an article for use in fraud and theft from an automatic machine.
He was jailed for one year and four months and ordered to pay a victim surcharge at Cambridge Crown Court.
