USD45m taken from ATMs around the world in hacker heist

Huge heist

According to the New York Times, USD45m has been stolen from ATMs around the world in a matter of hours by a group of worldwide hackers. Individuals filled their bags with piles of cash from various ATM locations in Japan, Russia, Romania, Egypt, Columbia, UK, Sri Lanka, Canada and many other countries.

Hackers broke into online databases stealing financial information from various prepaid bank accounts in the Middle East. In two separate attacks, over 36,000 transactions were carried out. Moreover, makeshift magnetic swipe cards carrying bank information were used to carry out one of the largest recorded heists in history.  Account information was stored on old plastic cards, hotel keys, expired key cards or credit cards.

Information from accounts belonging to Rakbank in the UAE and Bank of Muscat in Oman was also stolen.

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