Federal prosecutors have indicted eight men in connection with a series of ATM thefts that saw them steal more than $45 million, the New York Times reports.
In what authorities cited as “one of the most sophisticated and effective cybercrime attacks ever uncovered,” a network of Internet hackers and common street criminals joined forces to steal money using complex processes in a multi-national scheme. ATMs, banks and payments processors in the U.S., Japan, India, Oman, the U.A.E. and other countries were all affected.
According to The Times, the criminals were able to infiltrate data from card processing companies in India and the U.S., accessing account numbers and then distributing the information to others in 20 countries, who embedded the info on magstripe cards and withdrew cash from ATMs. The crime ring even raised the withdrawal limit on MasterCard prepaid debit accounts set by RasBank in the U.A.E., removing the funds in such a way so as not to deplete the accounts of individuals, which might have set off alarms.
The “cashing crews” would then launder the stolen funds by making expensive purchases such as luxury watches and cars, according to the Times.
“In the place of guns and masks, this cybercrime organization used laptops and the Internet,” said Loretta E. Lynch, the United States attorney in Brooklyn. “Moving as swiftly as data over the Internet, the organization worked its way from the computer systems of international corporations to the streets of New York City, with the defendants fanning out across Manhattan to steal millions of dollars from hundreds of ATMs in a matter of hours.”
The Times notes that in New York City alone, the crime ring stole $4.2 million, striking 2,904 machines over a 10-hour period on February 19. Authorities cited the attack as one of the largest heists in New York City history, rivaling the 1978 Lufthansa heist.
Albert Lajud-Pena is cited as the ringleader of the New York “cashing crew,” but was found dead in the Dominican Republic last month. The other defendants were all based in Yonkers, New York and said to be between the ages of 22 and 24, save for one defendant who was listed as 35.
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