Criminals hacking ATMs for illegal cash dispersals, a.k.a “Jackpotting,” have reportedly ripped off thousands of dollars in Texas and Wisconsin.
The U.S. Secret Service describes “jackpotting” as criminals manipulating ATMs into spitting out cash through “malicious software and/or computer hardware,” per KSAT. Unchecked, machines could potentially drain dry with a loss totaling in the thousands.
“The machine will just continue to dispense until it’s drained. It could be 97 dispenses, it could be 70,” said Laura Ward, chief risk officer for Firstmark Credit Union, told the outlet.
“These days we see all kinds of crimes, but this is a particularly different kind,” she added. “The ATMs are really being preyed upon. We call it an attack because it is an attack.”
In Houston, Texas, authorities say they linked one such “jackpotting” scheme to criminals with links to Russia. Per KSAT:
Earlier this week, two people were arrested in Houston, suspected of being part of a jackpotting group with potential ties to Russia.
While Ward did not disclose how much money was taken from Firstmark, she did say the crime can take a heavy financial toll on the banking institution.
The credit union has been working with local, state and federal authorities since it was attacked. She said she wants to raise awareness about it to help combat the problem.
The attacks happened over the course of several hours throughout the night, with the alleged criminals either manipulating the ATMs on site or remotely. As the machine dispenses cash, the perps come to collect, as surveillance video has shown.
“It’s very organized, and that’s one of the things I think is really critical to understand,” Ward said.
In Marshfield, Wisconsin, three men were recently charged for a December “jackpotting” scheme that ripped off over $100,000 from a credit union’s ATM machine. Per Marshfield News Herald:
Jhoenderson D. Rojas Eganez, 27, currently in the Kewaunee County Jail, has been charged with four felony counts of theft from a financial institution (value exceeds $100,000), interference with an automated teller machine, possession of burglarious tools and computer crimes-accessing data to defraud. Alejandro J. Sevilla Sanabria, 25, currently in the Kewaunee County Jail, and Worlly W. Garcia Albarracin, 35, of Berwyn, Illinois, have both been charged with four felony counts of being a party to the crimes of theft from a financial institution (value exceeds $100,000), interference with an automated teller machine, possession of burglarious tools and computer crimes-accessing data to defraud.
Arrest warrants were issued Wednesday and Thursday for the three men, according to online records. No court dates have been scheduled.
Over $114,000 in cash was reportedly stolen from the ATM.
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