How hackers allegedly stole "unlimited" amounts of cash from banks in just hours

How hackers allegedly stole "unlimited" amounts of cash from banks in just hours

arstechnica.com

Federal authorities have accused eight men of participating in 21st-Century Bank heists that netted a whopping $45 million by hacking into payment systems and eliminating withdrawal limits placed on prepaid debit cards.

The eight men formed the New York-based cell of an international crime ring that organized and executed the hacks and then used fraudulent payment cards in dozens of countries to withdraw the loot from automated teller machines, federal prosecutors alleged in court papers unsealed Thursday.

(visit the link for the full news article)

I searched to see if this is already posted but couldnt find it. I only just heard about this but the court papers were unsealed on Thursday.

What worries me is that this seems to be IMHO a coordinated attack sponsored by a hostile state, and not something from a crime syndicate.

Im searching for more details but let me know what you think ATS

arstechnica.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

My thoughts; The bank lost out and was looking to cover it up; the ceo's were behind it and tried to cover it up. Or it could have just been some real life Oceans Eleven, Italian Job thingy going on.

reply to post by AMANNAMEDQUEST


If the bank was going to steal of itself (as banks do daily) it wouldnt need to do the ATM scam, they could just do some bad trades...

reply to post by cartenz


The segment on the local news said that the money they took belonged to the banks Not the depositors.

Because of that I see it differently. If that truly is the case, I somewhat agree with it. Only because I think the Banks need a Friendly reminder of who's Money they have control of.

On a Personal Note, If EVERYONE operated as a collective and didn't pay their Mortgages or Other Loan Bills for the month, the Banks would be Permanently Crippled within a month to 45 days.

It really is to bad that we are just not capable of acting as a collective. I don't suspect that will come in Our lifetimes.

Originally posted by AMANNAMEDQUEST
My thoughts; The bank lost out and was looking to cover it up; the ceo's were behind it and tried to cover it up. Or it could have just been some real life Oceans Eleven, Italian Job thingy going on.

Inside jobs with people that know the controls but at the service level, and they simply gave information or access to the group involved.


Nowhere near the top echelons of the bank I would bet my money on though. Remember that the tops of the banks get millions in stock options. No... This smells more like a lowly manager that knew of a control that could be lifted and once it was a coordinated effort could be made to pilfer bank accounts.

Locally there was a check kiting scheme with a branded real estate office, it was one administrator in the office doing the fraud, the bank refuses to prosecute because they don't want to damage their reputation.

Banks are like that, they don't want their top clientele thinking they are foolish. The sure as heck want the poorest to be deathly afraid of them, so that's who the police are sicked on. These guys seem to fall into the bottom rungs that will get prosecuted.

Seems like anyone who takes physical "cash" from banks always ends up in jail. 1 billion on paper though, they'd be fine with that.

Originally posted by cartenz
reply to post by AMANNAMEDQUEST

 

If the bank was going to steal of itself (as banks do daily) it wouldnt need to do the ATM scam, they could just do some bad trades...

Precisely.

Either there are some incredibly intelligent people on this planet who can circumvent the electronic computer systems that control the banking protocols or this is a major inside job/psych op.

Either the matrix really is breaking down or the 'powers that be' have some psych op related mechanism in place to announce their next strategy - perhaps - it's time to put microchips into everyones arm so that their bank accounts are safe???? We cannot have these super intelligent/thugs/paid government operatives stealing all our/your money can we???? We will have to address this problem and putting a microchip into everyone seems like a jolly good idea then we won't need those unsafe ATMs - will we???

How many people will fall for this...things that make you go hmmmm!!!!

This news article was in the Sydney Morning Herald in Australia so anything featured in the mainstream and very controlled news is always going to make me take the word co-incidence out of my intellect while I scrutinise the information.

Much Peace...

They steal from a bank in a non violent way and its a Federal crime,Banks steal from millions and get a bailout and bonuses

Originally posted by cartenz
reply to post by AMANNAMEDQUEST

 

If the bank was going to steal of itself (as banks do daily)...

How can you steal something from yourself? Seriously, I just don't understand. I mean, it's the sort of soundbite that will get you a few stars hereabouts, but what does it actually mean?

Originally posted by lacrimoniousfinale

Originally posted by cartenz
reply to post by AMANNAMEDQUEST

 

If the bank was going to steal of itself (as banks do daily)...

How can you steal something from yourself? Seriously, I just don't understand. I mean, it's the sort of soundbite that will get you a few stars hereabouts, but what does it actually mean?

Many ways. Bankrupting subsidiaries, buying bad debt while leveraging your personal accounts against that call, stock options or bonuses, loans that never get paid... The list kind of goes on and on.

You know that whole "bailout" thing. Bailouts aren't needed if a bank is not broke. A bank does not go broke when it's vaults are not being raided. (Metaphorically speaking, there's nothing actually in the vaults )

reply to post by Amanda5

Either there are some incredibly intelligent people on this planet who can circumvent the electronic computer systems that control the banking protocols or this is a major inside job/psych op.

Either the matrix really is breaking down or the 'powers that be' have some psych op related mechanism in place to announce their next strategy - perhaps - it's time to put microchips into everyones arm so that their bank accounts are safe????

These are the kinds of theories that imply "This one might need meds!"

Seriously, do you honestly believe all that? It's obvious, this was done out of processing companies, not even the major banks themselves. (Maybe a satellite bank)

Let's say I run a credit processing company, so I handle merchant accounts for the banks and credit companies that handle all the actual credit/cash being traded with retail customers for goods/services.

This was done with a UAE bank originally I think it said? But through a processing company.. So either someone from the processing company, or inside the bank (inside job sort of), they find out the controls that keeps debit cards from being limited. Maybe a manager inside the bank. Maybe someone with the processing company that files the account for the bank to process.

One card gets issued with this broken account in place. Essentially, the limits on the card are removed. (Whether it was inside the bank or done from remote access I'm not sure...) What it sounds like though, is maybe one manager inside the bank or other company. That either gave access, or gave codes to a "hacker" (someone technically advanced enough to do it.

The people behind it, sounds like organized crime, or disorganized crime I should say, (depending on your thoughts of those groups.)

It was done all over the mideast and in USA. So I am thinking a crime group gets the unlimited account, prints the cloned cards (a whole whack of them) and sends their network of petty criminals to run around to all ATMs in the city and take out cash. They said someone like 30,000 transactions? That takes a lot of manpower, and a lot of ATMs, with people brazen enough for that.

So.... Yeah... Thinking immigrant crime groups. Like the shoplifting scam seen with many different immigrant groups in the West. It only takes one scam like this, gets popular and you have every immigrant in the welfare bracket happy to run around, in this case probably withdrawing a grand or a couple grand, getting maybe a 10% cut and passing it up the the organizers.

Mind you, I'm just speculating. You can read the indictment to get the full scoop.

In my head, it sounds more plausible than "Illuminati using mind control to fracture the matrix so we can be dog tagged with RFID chips in our arm, bla, bla, bla"



Just took another look, so the people arrested stateside seem to have Spanish names. One or two Asian sounding names... Could be either a group of Spaniards, or Filipinos, given the latter was occupied by the Spanish. My theory on using welfare bracket immigrants for "cash crews" stands...

The “Unlimited Operation” begins when the cybercrime organization hacks into the computer systems of a credit card processor, compromises prepaid debit card accounts, and essentially eliminates the withdrawal limits and account balances of those accounts.

Jael Mejia Collado, Joan Luis Minier Lara, Evan Jose Peña, Jose Familia Reyes, Elvis Rafael Rodriguez, Emir Yasser Yeje, and Chung Yu-Holguin

www.justice.gov...

One older one in the group to direct the idiot kids to run around cashing out the cards. The real people in charge though, the person inside the card processing company, and whoever arranged the cash crews, they havent been charged. Probably never will be...

Not sure which bank even backed the credit. Essentially, it looks like company XYZ sells prepaid debit/credit car, the inside person gave information to operative a1 so a1 hacks the network, or it looks that way, they take the limits off the prepaid cards and they are cloned and sent out to cash teams, directed by lets call them a2.

b1 is the leader of the cash teams (Probably the eldest in the group arrested.)

Seems like the b team is going to take the fall. Company XYZ will be covered by insurance, and the losses will be passed down in fees to you and I, the customer, because Company XYZ just got their insurance premiums jacked...

Originally posted by boncho
...

It was done all over the mideast and in USA. So I am thinking a crime group gets the unlimited account, prints the cloned cards (a whole whack of them) and sends their network of petty criminals to run around to all ATMs in the city and take out cash. They said someone like 30,000 transactions? That takes a lot of manpower, and a lot of ATMs, with people brazen enough for that.

So.... Yeah... Thinking immigrant crime groups. Like the shoplifting scam seen with many different immigrant groups in the West. It only takes one scam like this, gets popular and you have every immigrant in the welfare bracket happy to run around, in this case probably withdrawing a grand or a couple grand, getting maybe a 10% cut and passing it up the the organizers.

I think its state sponsored because they want to show TPTB in the US (ie: Wall St) that they have all these people on the ground inside the US who are loyal to their cause. Cos think about it $45 million really isnt that much money in the grand scheme of things, not to an organised crime syndicate; They could make that selling contraband on any given Friday

Just took another look, so the people arrested stateside seem to have Spanish names. One or two Asian sounding names... Could be either a group of Spaniards, or Filipinos, given the latter was occupied by the Spanish. My theory on using welfare bracket immigrants for "cash crews" stands...

...

Jael Mejia Collado, Joan Luis Minier Lara, Evan Jose Peña, Jose Familia Reyes, Elvis Rafael Rodriguez, Emir Yasser Yeje, and Chung Yu-Holguin

^^ China/Cuba??... I dunno. Maybe Im jumping to too many unrealistic conclusions??

reply to post by cartenz

Cos think about it $45 million really isnt that much money in the grand scheme of things, not to an organised crime syndicate; They could make that selling contraband on any given Friday

You have an inside source on this? You can't just throw out numbers like that expecting to believe such absurdities. No, they don't make 40 million "just selling contraband on fridays"

I listen to hearings, I read the true crime books, I read the tell-all's by the one's who get out and either use pseudonyms or risk getting 'offed' and what you are saying is not close to reality.

Unless you of course want to source your materials?

I can give you a couple off hand though that come to mind:

www.torontosun.com...

www.bankinfosecurity.com...

There's a bunch more but I cant be bothered to track them down. I'm sure you have a plethora of sources of crime groups making "40 million on any given sunday" heads up, gov calculation of illegal goods worth has nothing, absolutely no relation to wholesale commissions realized through trading.

How does $45 Million get taken from ATM machines by 8 men in only 'hours'?

Physically i mean.

Think about it..an average ATM holds about $50K right?

That's 20 full ATMs for each $1 Million...for $45 Million, it's 900 ATM machines all full to the brim.

Or about 112 ATM machines for each of the 8 man gang to empty with their fake cards.

In hours? Hmmm.

The banks didn't notice that their full ATM machines were all emptied in one transaction...in every bank branch?

Other customers or public didn't notice a guy standing at an ATM which was spewing thousands of $'s non-stop while he fills sacks with cash...not even on one of the 900 machines?

Not impossible, but far fetched IMO.

Originally posted by boncho

Originally posted by lacrimoniousfinale

Originally posted by cartenz
reply to post by AMANNAMEDQUEST

 

If the bank was going to steal of itself (as banks do daily)...

How can you steal something from yourself? Seriously, I just don't understand. I mean, it's the sort of soundbite that will get you a few stars hereabouts, but what does it actually mean?

Many ways. Bankrupting subsidiaries, buying bad debt while leveraging your personal accounts against that call, stock options or bonuses, loans that never get paid... The list kind of goes on and on.

You know that whole "bailout" thing. Bailouts aren't needed if a bank is not broke. A bank does not go broke when it's vaults are not being raided. (Metaphorically speaking, there's nothing actually in the vaults

)

I can see a lot of "stealing" going on here, but it is stealing from:

minority shareholders and / or creditors of the subsidiary
personal account holders
lenders who will never be repaid
governments / taxpayers

I still don't see how a bank is able to steal from itself.

reply to post by lacrimoniousfinale


Stealing from yourself is entirely possible...insurance fraud related mainly though.

Same goes for banks stealing from 'themselves' (not really themselves, but from government insurance and guarantee schemes)

Besides, a manager of a bank branch doesn't own the bank branch...so technically, although he or she decides to steal the money from 'their own' bank, it's not really their own bank.

In any case, it's usually the taxpayer who foots the bill, as Government insure deposits up to or over a certain amount.

If the deposits get stolen or lost in bad trading practices, the government pays up.

reply to post by boncho


Nowhere in my post did I mention the Illuminati. Nowhere in my post did I mention mind control. Illuminati and mind control are the words you used. Just want to remind you that you are on a website with a reputation for being one of the largest, most frequently visited sites - with a largely conspiracy themed content.

Let's discuss this rationally. You are positing that the theft was co-ordinated from people with inside knowledge and hard copies of credit cards. What you posit is plausible and I have not attacked that in any way and will not attack it in any way.

I am putting forward a theory and that is all. Let's see whether the mainstream news run with the story or whether it fades into obscurity - like a lot of news stories. All I know is that 1984 and Animal Farm were written a long time before the content of the books started to become reality - think about it - take as long as you need.

Much Peace...

reply to post by cartenz


I heard about this the other day... I have one thing to say about it.. Genius

45 million isn't that much money may sound like a lot to some, but it isn't especially to a 'state'.

Also heard they specifically targeted banks not the people as the entire amount was insured.

Just goes to show how smart a crook thinks he is they always get caught.