Slashdot Mirror
ATMs Compromised, $45M Taken
An anonymous reader sends this news from the Associated Press:
"A worldwide gang of criminals stole a total of $45 million in a matter of hours by hacking their way into a database of prepaid debit cards and then draining cash machines around the globe, federal prosecutors said Thursday. ... Here’s how it worked: Hackers got into bank databases, eliminated withdrawal limits on prepaid-debit cards and created access codes. Others loaded that data onto any plastic card with a magnetic stripe — an old hotel key card or an expired credit card worked fine as long as it carried the account data and correct access codes."
They did "discuss"
Mr. Lajud-Peña fled the United States just as the authorities were starting to make arrests of members of his crew, the law enforcement official said.
On April 27, according to news reports from the Dominican Republic, two hooded gunmen stormed a house where he was playing dominoes and began shooting. A manila envelope containing about $100,000 in cash remained untouched.
Why wouldn't an Old Hotel card with a mag stripe work if it had the info the reader was expecting? I mean it's interesting that it worked, but why is that of note?
Because a lot of people don't understand that a mag strip is a mag strip, regardless of what piece of plastic it's connected to. There's an opportunity here to talk about how some types of chipped cards can prevent this type of easy duplication, but they missed it.