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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."
I thought flash mobs are groups of people in the same place at the same time. Not all over the world?
By the name, I suppose a flash mob suggests a mob of people doing something 'in a flash' (in a short period of time).
A mob doesn't necessarily have to be in the same spot, at least it doesn't have to be the way I understand it.
Perhaps in the past a mob would have to be in the same location, but due to the way the world is all interlinked nowadays someone can affect something on the otherside of the world, meaning the world has gotten a lot 'smaller' as such.
It was probably structured like a lot of the stolen credit-card number sites: a high-reputation user announces an opportunity, then many other users pay up-front to participate. At the given time, the critical info is released to all, and it's then every man for himself trying to grab as much money as possible.
Two excellent analogies. I've been looking at corporations (in the broad sense) for 30 years, and it took me a long time to realize that you might as well ignore what people say about how they organize, and just look at what the organization actually is. That tells you almost everything you need to know.
RBS Worldpay is the Royal Bank of Scotlands Worldpay cheapo net transactions processor. The processor is shit (and expensive), and RBS are basically owned by the UK govt. after the bailout.
So if you use Worldpay on your website, I would get shot of it sharpish. They are the kind of outfit that will have multiple holes in their security. (I used to use their payment processor back in 2002.)
Reminds me of a news story where someone held up a bank for $20, then waited for the police and turned himself in. In court, he asked to be put in prison until the end of the year in order to save money. In the news article I read, the judge said something to the effect of "It's not the best financial planning, but at least there's a plan."
The funniest ATM theft I've heard of took place in Saskatchewan, Canada. This took place on a long weekend in a sleepy little rural town.
4:00 AM sees our thieves breaking into the local gravel contractor. After breaking through the gate they steal a gravel truck and an oxy-acetelene torch. Next stop is the post treating plant about 1/2 mile (1 km) down the highway. They steal a loader. This is what is used to load poles and posts onto semi-trailors.
By now its about 4:15 or so. Did they make noise? Well - a diesel truck and 350 HP diesel loader will make some noise I suppose. It woke some of the locals up.
Around the corner from the bank about one (1) block away is the local police station which is manned 24x7. The police are at their desks thinking the gravel contractor must be getting an early start this morning.
So the thieves drive the loader over to the bank. The reach in through the roof totally demolishing the building and grab the ATM which is firmly bolted to the concrete floor and footings. Seems the concrete wasn't much of a match for the 350 HP loader because the ATM was cleanly plucked through the gapping hole and dropped into the back of the dump truck.
By now the cops were heading for their cars thinking there must have been a big accident on Main Street.
Our thieves meanwhile shut off the loader and hopped into the dump truck and took off.
A few miles south of town they stopped at an abandoned farm yard and took their time with the oxy-acetelene torch and chopped the ATM apart.
Having done this they took the money and casually left the scene of the crime. So far no one has been caught! So far apparently these thieves are keeping their mouths closed. Apparently there are no leads.
The best part of this story is the locals still laugh about their bank robbery! When you live in a sleepy Saskatchewan rural town then once in a while a little excitement spices up an otherwise dreary life.
May I be so bold to suggest that there was no actual "hacking" taking place at all?
By "hacking" I mean the stuff that movies and TV tells us that hacking looks like.
A bespectacled nerd in his teens or early twenties, furiously typing something at his green and black screen filled with lines upon lines of scrolling text, uttering "Come on... come on..." until he suddenly "hacks the Gibson" and a welcome screen appears, upon which he jumps up yelling "YES! I AM INVINCIBLE!".
TFA tells us the following:
Here is the amazing part: With these cashers ready to do their dirty work around the world, the hacker somehow had the ability to lift those limits we all have on our ATM cards. For example, I'm only allowed to take out $500 a day, but the cashers were able to cash once, twice, three times over and over again. When it was all over, they only used 100 cards but they ripped off $9 million.
- known limit - $500
- 100 ATMcards used
- $9 million gone
That comes out to about 90k per card, right?
Does anyone remember that little issue with Tranax ATMs from couple of years ago?
It smells to me that something similar happened here. Someone leaving the ADMIN pass at 55555555 or 12345678.
There was probably no need for hacking cards - they probably left the same limit.
Instead, he/she/or it - just changed the codes for banknotes inside the machine.
So... you just tell the ATM that its 100s are 5s - and then repeatedly ask for 5s.
$500 limit coughs up ~$100.000 +/- couple of earlier withdrawals that already left the machine a few 100s short.
In other words - about $90.000 per card.
The beauty of it?
Those suspects in the photos may be regular Joes and Janes who came later, found the machine giving 100s for 5s - and got caught on camera.
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens