FBI Uncovers Worldwide $9M ATM Card Scam
FoxNews
February 03, 2009
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,487184,00.html
Hackers orchestrated a highly coordinated, global attack on ATM cards involving the theft of a staggering $9 million from bank customers — and they could strike again, according to an investigation by FOX 5 TV in New York.
Customers' personal information might also have been compromised in what federal agents are calling one of the most well-coordinated such schemes they've seen, MyFOXNY.com reported.
The FBI said it uncovered the plot and is investigating. The alleged hackers are still at large and could orchestrate another attack.
In a matter of hours, thieves struck ATMs from 49 different cities — including New York, Atlanta, Chicago, Moscow and Montreal — just after 8 p.m. EST on Nov. 8, according to the FBI.
Part of the heist was caught on security camera images obtained by the TV station. The photos show people the FBI calls "cashers" — low-level participants in the plot who allegedly used bogus ATM cards with stolen information — at the machines.
The scheme worked as follows: Plotters hacked into a computer system for a company called RBS WorldPay, which allows employers to transfer workers' pay directly to a payroll card.
The scam artists were then able to infiltrate the system and steal personal data needed to make duplicate ATM cards.
"We've seen similar attempts to defraud a bank through ATM machines but not anywhere near the scale we have here," FBI Agent Ross Rice told FOX 5. "We've never seen one this well coordinated."
The FBI has no suspects and has made no arrests thus far.
An Atlanta attorney filed a class-action lawsuit against RBS WorldPay for the alleged security breach.
The company told FOX 5 they'd hired a security firm to investigate and try to prevent identity theft in the future.
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