red states rule
05-09-2013, 03:48 PM
These guys were damn slick
A gang of cyber-criminals stole $45 million in a matter of hours by hacking their way into a database of prepaid debit cards (http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2013/05/09/atm-hackers-stole-45m-in-21st-century-bank-heist-feds-say/#) and then draining cash machines around the globe, federal prosecutors said Thursday.
Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch called it "a massive 21st-century bank heist" and compared it to the Lufthansa heist in the late 1970s immortalized in the film "Goodfellas." Lynch said the fraudsters had moved with astounding speed to loot financial institutions around the world.
Seven people are under arrest in the U.S. in connection with the case, which prosecutors said involved thousands of thefts from ATMs using bogus magnetic swipe cards (http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2013/05/09/atm-hackers-stole-45m-in-21st-century-bank-heist-feds-say/#). The accused ringleader in the U.S. cell, Alberto Yusi Lajud-Pena, was reportedly murdered in the Dominican Republic late last month, prosecutors said. More investigations are ongoing and other arrests have been made in other countries, but prosecutors did not have details.
An indictment unsealed Thursday accused the eight of being members of the New York cell, saying they withdrew $2.8 million in cash from hacked accounts in less than a day. One of the suspects was caught on multiple surveillance cameras, his backpack increasingly loaded down with cash. Others took photos of themselves with giant wads of bills as they made their way up and down Manhattan.
Lynch said the cells would take a cut of the money then launder it through expensive purchases or ship it wholesale to the global ringleaders, but didn't say where they were located. Prosecutors said the scheme involved attacks on two banks, Rakbank, which is in the United Arab Emirates, and the Bank of Muscat in Oman. Hackers obtained debit card (http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2013/05/09/atm-hackers-stole-45m-in-21st-century-bank-heist-feds-say/#) data, eliminated withdrawal limits on the accounts, created access codes and then sent a network of operatives fanning out to rapidly withdraw money in multiple cities, authorities said.
Lynch called it a "virtual criminal flash mob." She said they could use any plastic card to withdraw the cash -- an old hotel key card or an expired credit card -- as long as they had the account data and correct access codes.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2013/05/09/atm-hackers-stole-45m-in-21st-century-bank-heist-feds-say/#ixzz2SqIJl2FE
A gang of cyber-criminals stole $45 million in a matter of hours by hacking their way into a database of prepaid debit cards (http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2013/05/09/atm-hackers-stole-45m-in-21st-century-bank-heist-feds-say/#) and then draining cash machines around the globe, federal prosecutors said Thursday.
Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch called it "a massive 21st-century bank heist" and compared it to the Lufthansa heist in the late 1970s immortalized in the film "Goodfellas." Lynch said the fraudsters had moved with astounding speed to loot financial institutions around the world.
Seven people are under arrest in the U.S. in connection with the case, which prosecutors said involved thousands of thefts from ATMs using bogus magnetic swipe cards (http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2013/05/09/atm-hackers-stole-45m-in-21st-century-bank-heist-feds-say/#). The accused ringleader in the U.S. cell, Alberto Yusi Lajud-Pena, was reportedly murdered in the Dominican Republic late last month, prosecutors said. More investigations are ongoing and other arrests have been made in other countries, but prosecutors did not have details.
An indictment unsealed Thursday accused the eight of being members of the New York cell, saying they withdrew $2.8 million in cash from hacked accounts in less than a day. One of the suspects was caught on multiple surveillance cameras, his backpack increasingly loaded down with cash. Others took photos of themselves with giant wads of bills as they made their way up and down Manhattan.
Lynch said the cells would take a cut of the money then launder it through expensive purchases or ship it wholesale to the global ringleaders, but didn't say where they were located. Prosecutors said the scheme involved attacks on two banks, Rakbank, which is in the United Arab Emirates, and the Bank of Muscat in Oman. Hackers obtained debit card (http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2013/05/09/atm-hackers-stole-45m-in-21st-century-bank-heist-feds-say/#) data, eliminated withdrawal limits on the accounts, created access codes and then sent a network of operatives fanning out to rapidly withdraw money in multiple cities, authorities said.
Lynch called it a "virtual criminal flash mob." She said they could use any plastic card to withdraw the cash -- an old hotel key card or an expired credit card -- as long as they had the account data and correct access codes.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2013/05/09/atm-hackers-stole-45m-in-21st-century-bank-heist-feds-say/#ixzz2SqIJl2FE