Secret Service warns banks of coming wave of ATM 'jackpotting' attacks
The
U.S. Secret Service is warning banks across the country about a new
means of robbing ATMs, previously seen in Europe and Mexico, but now
hitting the U.S for the first time in a coordinated way.
It's
called "jackpotting." It works just like it sounds, an ATM machine is
compromised to spit out cash to a fraudster at a furious rate of 40
bills every 23 seconds.
"That’s
where you get the term jackpotting from because it is basically like a
slot machine that you hit the jackpot — you are basically taking all of
the money out of the ATM,
" supervisory special agent Matt O'Neill told
ABC News.
The
Secret Service says they've seen about a dozen cases across the country
from the mid-Atlantic region through New England, the Pacific Northwest
and Louisiana. "What we’re finding is the attacks really started in a
coordinated effort in December and well north of a million dollars has
been taken," O'Neill said.
How does it work?
Fraudsters
pose as ATM technicians, even wearing uniforms and access the teller
machine. They open it using a generic key that the Secret Service says
is readily available for purchase on the internet.
Once
inside, they use a technical means — installing a laptop computer and a
cellphone into the machine — to be able to remotely take over the
machine and force it to discharge money. But to avoid detection, the
bogus technician does not typically take the cash, that's left to a
second co-conspirator.
The
second co-conspirator, a "money mule," then goes to the compromised
machine and calls the phony technician who initiates a withdrawal
sequence remotely.
"It
runs until it is empty or the person standing at the ATM alerts the
controller of the ATM to stop the withdrawal sequence because either law
enforcement is nearby or for whatever reason they get spooked and want
to leave the scene," O'Neill told ABC News.
The
technician often returns to the empty machine to retrieve the the
laptop and cellphone, putting the ATM machine back like he was never
there.
"We’ve
seen these 21st Century robberies take place in plain sight, middle of
the day, in malls, just because they are obviously getting themselves a
jacket that says technician on it."
After
investigating a report of a jackpotting attack in recent days, the
Secret Service quickly determined a more coordinated set of attacks was
about to be launched in the next seven to 10 days. An alert was sent out
Friday to inform the banking community of the potential attack and how
they might protect themselves from being victimized.
O'Neill says it's transnational organized crime using a mixture of international criminals and people who are already in the United States.
The
attacks target specific models of stand-alone ATM machines made by
Diebold running a the Windows XP operating system. Banks can safeguard
themselves by upgrading their ATMs' operating systems,
Jackpotting
has been a problem for a number of years in Europe and, according to
the Secret Service, it was just a matter of time before it came to the
United States. "It’s a problem that is not going to go away any time
soon, now that it has hit our shores," O'Neill said.
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