ATM Rip-off Ever Nets $9+ Million in 30 Minutes

Largest Coordinated ATM Rip-off Ever Nets $9+ Million in 30 Minutes
By jheary on Tue, 02/10/09 - 12:36am.

Share Email this page Comment Print
Digg Slashdot Fark Stumble Reddit
MIXX del.icio.us Newsvine Technorati Facebook
Buzz up!
CloseWith only 100 compromised ATM cards thieves were able to grab $9 million bucks from the banking system in a new style of attack. Law enforcement sources told Fox 5 it's one of the most frightening well-coordinated heists they've ever seen. "We've seen similar attempts to defraud a bank through ATM machines but not, 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 said.

How did the hackers steal $9 million in one 30-minute time period using only 100 ATM cards you ask? That shouldn’t be possible given the daily limits (usually about $500/day) placed on all ATM cards. Well it turns out that the hackers applied military like precision to old ATM Scam techniques and added a touch of devious ingenuity to pull this one off. Here is a look at how the theft was perpetrated.

First, the bad guys had to obtain the ATM cards. To accomplish this they hacked into RBS WorldPay and stole at least 100 payroll cards. According to RBS WorldPay, “Payroll cards are used by a growing number of U.S. firms to pay wages to employees. A payroll card is a reloadable stored value card that can be used at any point of sale that accepts credit and debit cards.â€

What? They just wanted a better life, to feed their families. If it's OK for foreigners to steal, why not Americans? Maybe this is considered a crime because they are stealing from the banks instead of the banks and illegals stealing from us? Well I myself doesn't see any difference.