Flash Mob Steals $9 Million From ATMs

Mike writes "A global flash mob of ATM thieves netted $9 million in fraud against ATMs in 49 cities around the world. The computer system for a company called RBS WorldPay was hacked. One service of the company is the ability for employers to pay employees with the money going directly to a debit card that can be used in any ATM. The hacker was able to infiltrate the supposedly secure system and steal the information necessary to duplicate or clone people's ATM cards. Shortly after midnight Eastern Time on November 8, the FBI believes that dozens of the so-called cashers were used in a coordinated attack on ATMs around the world. Over 130 different ATMs in 49 cities worldwide were accessed in a 30-minute period on November 8. 'We've never seen one this well coordinated,' the FBI said. So far, the FBI has no suspects and has made no arrests (PDF) in this scam."

Comments

cough

[easyTree]

in other news a flash mob recovered all the rights that have been stolen from the people by their governments over the last few years

Re:cough

[Anonymous Coward]

Obama is in office, you can stop saying things like that. He's going to fix everything, the internet told me so. ;)

Its the NEW STIMULUS PACKAGE!!!

[Bob_Who]

Gee, I guess we can rule out any foul play from the bankers. We can trust their integrity.

Re:How's this a flash mob?

[$RANDOMLUSER]

They were all in the same place at the same time - cyberspace, Nov 8, 05:00 UTC.

Re:Inquiring minds want to know

[daniel_newby]

Nah, his brains aren't in his ass.

Holy Bonus Batman!

[Overzeetop]

That's almost as much as John Thain (of Merrill Lynch) thought he should get for securing the bailout funds!

Need new friends

[Narnie]

I need more friends willing to say "Here's this ATM card. At midnight tonight, make as many $500 withdrawals as you can in 30 minutes and put them onto this card. You get to keep half of what's on the card."

Where do you find friends like that?
/humor

Re:This doesn't sound right

[NotQuiteReal]

Maybe it is like the "street value" quoted in a drug bust, or like an RIAA accounting for music "theft".

Here we have $9,000,000 listed as the retail value of the loss, the actual paper money they got is nearly worthless, because ATMs only issue "bank notes", nothing more.

Looking at their photos...

[denzacar]

They don't look like someone who just won a lottery to me.

They look more like homeless people.
Which brings up the question - why aren't there more homeless people robbing banks out there?

I mean... they are in a clear advantage.
They are invisible AND they have nothing to lose.
Worst case scenario - they get sent to a jail. HA!
3 meals a day, clothing, housing and health-care at the cost of the society.

Re:Looking at their photos...

[Anonymous Coward]

Ah, yes, because every homeless person is exactly like one another, and it's all their own fault for being poor and homeless.

How's the cake?

Re:Looking at their photos...

[sortius_nod]

And weapons... big fuck off shiny ones...

Re:$9 Million?

[bremstrong]

Right, $9M is nothing. These guys need to recruit some Chief Ponzi Officers from the Wall St. banks.

Re:This doesn't sound right

[Anonymous Coward]

About five Euro.

I wonder

[hibiki_r]

Did they hack the ATM machines after stealing the PIN numbers?

I have to go work in some CSS style sheets for a web site that links ISBN numbers to UPC codes. I hope they don't make me redundant.

ATM Machines?

[JerkBoB]

I wonder what the PIN Number was that they all used in those ATM Machines. Maybe they used a custom PCB Board to prototype the hack. Then they downloaded the plans onto a CD Disc. I'll bet they literally died after they got away with all the cash.

Anyways, I could care less.

Re:ATM Machines?

[dbitter1]

That's nothing! You should hear about the time I was trying to get some money out of my IRA account so I could get my compuer needed more RAM memory, a new NIC card, and a new LCD Display. All I had to do was find the UPC code for some DAT tapes I bought because that was my PPP protocol password so I could get on t3h internet. Unfortunately my daughter (she was distracted from getting her SAT test scores) spilled some some lotion with an SPF factor of 50 on the pile of papers where it was, destroying that as well as a VIN number of a car I was going to sell when it shorted out a loose plug in the pile that caught fire (it had live AC current running through it). The smoke smelled so bad it would probably cure the HIV virus or something.

Re:$9 Million?

[neotritium]

There's a BIG difference. One group was a bunch of unimaginative, unethical, thieving liars and cowards. The other group wasn't made up of bank executives.

^ Fixed.

Re:This doesn't sound right

[iTowelie]

My fastest time is 17 seconds from the time the card goes in until the card comes out. That includes entering my PIN, selecting chequeing/withdrawal, amount of money, dispense money, give me back my card. Not all ATMs will give me that time due to different menus/longer authentication times etc. Don't ask me why I would time something so stupid in my day to day life, but I pride myself at quick withdrawals. Wait a minute...

iTowelie

Re:How's this a flash mob?

[timeOday]

$9M in 49 cities around the world without a trace, but the joke's on them, because we know it wasn't a real flash mob. And isn't that really what matters?

And his sidekick. . .

[tuna_wasabi]

Redundant Boy!

Also, since the N in PIN stands for Number, saying PIN number is redundant. TFA didn't make this mistake, but since they go together so often I though I'd point it out for completeness.

One time I heard a friend say "I want to get some cash out of the ATM Machine, but I can't remember my PIN Number."

He's dead now.