Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Hackers Steal Millions From Mexican Banks In Transfer Heist (reuters.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the drag-and-drop dept.

happyfeet2000 shares a report from Reuters: Thieves siphoned hundreds of millions of pesos out of Mexican banks, including No. 2 Banorte, by creating phantom orders that wired funds to bogus accounts and promptly withdrew the money, two sources close to the government's investigation said. Hackers sent hundreds of false orders to move amounts ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of pesos from banks including Banorte, to fake accounts in other banks, the sources said, and accomplices then emptied the accounts in cash withdrawals in dozens of branch offices. The total amount is estimated to be as much as $20 million (~400 million pesos).

13 of 29 comments (clear)

  1. Thanks for the translation. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    When I first read " siphoned hundreds of millions of pesos" I thought, wait a second, that's like $200 dollars.

  2. Oh I hope by bobstreo · · Score: 1

    they didn't steal any cartel money. /s

    Sounds more like an NSA/CIA operation to drain the funds.

    1. Re:Oh I hope by whoever57 · · Score: 1

      Sounds more like an NSA/CIA operation to drain the funds.

      Possible, but I think unlikely. The use of lots of Smurfs might compromise the operation. The NSA/CIA would just wire the money into some opaque jurisdiction.

      --
      The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
    2. Re:Oh I hope by ClickOnThis · · Score: 1

      Sounds more like an NSA/CIA operation to drain the funds.

      Drain whose funds?

      These people were bank robbers, not spies.

      --
      If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
    3. Re:Oh I hope by vtcodger · · Score: 1

      "opaque jurisdiction" = Washington DC, New York, London.

      Two dollars enter. One dollar leaves. Money handlers (and they are very numerous) prosper.

      --
      You can't see ANYTHING from a car, You've got to get out of the goddamned contraption and walk...Edward Abbey
  3. Gotta build the wall somehow, right? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Trump did say Mexico would pay for it...

  4. It's good work I guess... by bobbied · · Score: 4, Interesting

    It's good work, if you can get it.

    So.. They didn't have withdraw controls on newly minted accounts that just got funded electronically? They didn't require ID's either? What about verifying you know who's creating these electronic transactions? No?

    Shesh, this is lax security. I'm not saying the banks deserved to be fleeced, but if you cannot be bothered with the minimum of security practices, I'm going to find it hard to shed many tears about your bad luck. Then there is the whole, you don't know who's initiating this transactions electronically so you cannot hold them responsible?

    All I can say is.. I don't want to be a bank...

    --
    "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
    1. Re:It's good work I guess... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      In my experience, banks operating in dangerous jurisdicitions like Mexico actually pay a lot more attention to security then their global peers. This is in all likelihood an inside job perpetrated by someone who knew exactly how to work around all the security checks (and perhaps bribe the right people in order to get around them).

  5. Re:Actually, about $200MM USD if 400MM pesos..... by ClickOnThis · · Score: 3, Informative

    You missed a decimal point. The current exchange on a Mexican peso is USD$0.05080.

    https://www.investing.com/curr...

    --
    If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
  6. Re:Actually, about $200MM USD if 400MM pesos..... by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

    Don't listen to these crooks. I'm willing to sell you 10 million Dogecoins at the low, low price of only 10 million Dogecoins.

    --
    #DeleteFacebook
  7. From the source by Vitdom · · Score: 1

    "He said that the central bank’s SPEI interbank transfer system was not compromised but that the problem had to do with software developed by institutions or third-party providers to connect to the payment system. "

  8. Re:Cartel by vtcodger · · Score: 1

    "The banks in Mexico are heavily corrupted by cartel influences."

    I am shocked, shocked, to hear that there might be corruption in Mexico.

    "Mexico ranks 135th on the Transparency International index of 180 countries"
    https://mexiconewsdaily.com/ne...

    --
    You can't see ANYTHING from a car, You've got to get out of the goddamned contraption and walk...Edward Abbey
  9. BUILD THE by Tsolias · · Score: 1

    firewall