Slashdot Mirror
Scammer Plants a Fake ATM At Defcon 17
Groo Wanderer writes "Normally, a well-crafted fake ATM would skim a lot of card information before it was noticed, if it was ever noticed at all. Because it is safer for the criminals and harder to prosecute, financial crimes like this are spreading fast. If you are smart, you don't try to pull one off in the middle of a computer security convention where the attendees are very good at spotting such scams. That said, some not-so-bright criminal tried to plant a fake ATM at Defcon. He now has one less fake ATM and a whole lot of investigators on his tail."
FTA, "Conference organizers notified local law enforcement who hauled away the machine on Thursday or Friday".... Wouldn't they have been better served monitoring the device to see who came and picked it up?
Sorry, I'm no expert here. Is there a way to monitor if the device was broadcasting wirelessly, preventing the need of a physical retrieval?
You stereotypers are all the same...
I would think that the hardware would be considered a loss once placed.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
Being Canadian I usually call it a 'bank machine' rather than an ATM. That is the common term here, very few people call it an ATM. The funny thing is, when I lived in the U.S. I would have to remember to use the term ATM instead of bank machine. While some people knew what I meant when I would ask, "where's the closest bank machine," an unbelievable number would look at me with a blank stare and ask what I meant. Then I would remember and say, "the closest ATM." Then I would get a look of understanding and then the directions. In fact I would hazard that something like 60 or 70% of the people would respond like that. I can't give exact numbers, but absolutely for sure, most people didn't know what I meant by 'bank machine'. The same when I asked for the 'bathroom'. I would have to translate to 'rest room' (the WC for those overseas :) ). When I remembered to use the local term, they would ask why I call it a bathroom, there aren't any baths there. And I would reply, why do you call it a rest room, I can tell you for sure I won't be doing any resting... maybe a lot of grunting, but no resting. It's funny how English can be so different. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
-- I ignore anonymous replies to my comments and postings.
Back in 1990, after the Loma Prieta Earthquake, there was certain bank (damaged by the quake) that was demolished right downtown in Santa Cruz, California. One day I was walking past and noticed in the debris/rubble pile the night deposit box, bread-box style door hanging open, still mounted in a fair portion of the wall it was attached to.
I realized it was exactly the same kind of door that was used on MY banks night deposit box just a few blocks down the street, a bank that still did business.
I had a very boring job at the time and had lots of time to daydream. It is here that I devised my plan.
Late in the night, head down with a pickup and load up the night deposit box from the rubble pile. Take it home. Reproduce the wall the other one, the one at my bank, is mounted in. As it turns out, the night deposit box there was located in a sort of wall "extension" that one could reproduce, lay the fake right over the top (quickly unloaded from the back of a pickup) and as long as it looked right would appear no different. Simply leave it in place with the lock modified so ANY key will open it.
Set it up late Sunday night, around 11pm, and wait for the night deposits from all the businesses that cater to the tourist industry in Santa Cruz every weekend. Head back around 5 am, swing the false wall out of the way, pick up all the deposits, and walk away...
There was even a parking garage across the street for spotters.
Alas, I have morals, so it shall remain a daydream.