Gang members withdrew money from ATMs in 24 countries

Apr 28, 2015 09:02 GMT  ·  By

Individuals believed to be part of a cybercriminal group have been picked up by Romanian authorities; they are suspected of having stolen more than $15 / €13.8 million by cloning cards with information from the computer systems of banks.

On Sunday, the Romanian Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) raided 42 locations in six counties and detained for questioning 25 people. The organization says that the group may be composed of over 52 individuals from Romania and other countries.

Coordinated heists removed millions in one day

The card data was obtained by hacking banks in the US (Puerto Rico) and in Muscat, the capital city of Oman, and belonged to accounts of large corporations. The fraudulent cards were then distributed to the members of the group.

Targeting banks instead of their customers is a trend adopted by organized cybercriminals who are after big heists, planning them carefully in advance.

In less than a year, between February and December 2013, the gang managed to make 34,000 cash withdrawals from ATM systems in 24 countries.

According to DIICOT prosecutors, the fraudsters made 4,200 transactions in a single day (December 2, 2013) from ATMs in 15 cities in Romania, withdrawing $5 / €4.6 million in cash. Earlier that year, on February 20, the gang used the cloned cards to remove $9 / €8.3 million from cash machines in Japan.

House searches find gold bars, money and paintings

Such operations were coordinated and planned for banks’ non-business days. Financial institutions hit this way are from different countries, including the US, UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Canada, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Indonesia, Egypt, Malaysia, Russia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, and Latvia.

During the house searches, the officers found 16 laptop computers, 2 kg / 4.4 lbs of gold bars, mobile phones used for the nefarious activity, paintings, and €150,000 / $163,000 in cash.

The money from the fraudulent activity was invested in different goods such as real estate and other valuable products. Until the completion of the investigation, these are to be placed under restrictions.

DIICOT has made available a video with their findings during the house searches.