Cybertheft

waltky · Aug 15, 2018

Hackers are preparing an ‘unlimited’ ATM cash heist...

Hackers are preparing an ‘unlimited’ ATM cash heist. Here’s how to protect yourself
Aug 15, 2018 - The FBI is warning financial institutions that cybercriminals are preparing to execute a hack could siphon a virtually unlimited amount of money from ATMs around the world.

The “ATM cash-out” scheme or “unlimited operation” is likely to happen in the near future, the FBI said in a confidential alert on Friday, made public by cybersecurity journalist Brian Krebs. “The FBI has obtained unspecified reporting indicating cyber criminals are planning to conduct a global Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cash-out scheme in the coming days, likely associated with an unknown card issuer breach,” the alert read, according to Krebs. These kinds of attacks have been used to steal millions of dollars from individuals and banks around the world.

A customer uses an ATM in Nairobi, Kenya on July 10, 2018.

What is different about this case is the FBI learned about it before it happened, said Mark Rasch, a cyber lawyer and former federal prosecutor who has handled similar cases. The advanced warning means banks and consumers can take extra precautions that could prevent or mitigate the damage from an attack. Here’s what you should know and how you can protect yourself.

How do ATM cash-outs work?

There are two main steps to this kind of cybercrime. First, hackers must obtain users’ information. One of the most common ways to do this is a phishing attack that uses emails or phone calls that appear to come from a reputable or familiar source. If a person clicks on a link in a phishing email, it could compromise banking passwords. A phone call from someone posing as the IRS or a bank could convince someone to give up the answers to their security questions.

Criminals can also buy a person’s information off the black market from other hackers.
Based on the FBI memo, it appears the hackers already have that personal data. Now, they are waiting to use it. That’s where the second phase of the scheme begins. If hackers have your debit card information, they can “clone” the card using hardware that duplicates the bank information onto another card. That “clone” can then be used at any number of ATMs. Once they do that, they get hundreds of people, likely recruited off the dark web, to go to ATMs at the same time, using the debit card clones to withdraw stacks of cash from the machines.

There is one last step.[/b]
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Cybertheft

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