BankRobbery
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Cyberthieves yank $45 million in sophisticated ATM hack, make Ocean's Eleven look trivial
It has the makings of a film -- but the fallout from one of the world's most sophisticated ATM heists is very real. The New York Times is reporting that a massive team of criminals worked in concert in order to grab some $45 million in a matter of hours over the course of two operations. The sheer scope of the project is hard to wrap one's mind around, involving trained personnel positioned in over two dozen countries. Earlier today, federal prosecutors in Brooklyn "unsealed an indictment charging eight members of the New York crew, offering a glimpse into what the authorities said was one of the most sophisticated and effective cybercrime attacks ever uncovered." In essence, the hackers were able to infiltrate various credit card processing companies and raise withdrawal limits on prepaid accounts -- from there, cashing crews hit thousands of ATMs, socking away millions in the process. Hit up the source link for the full read; it's a wild one, for sure.
Brazen bank robber arrested after emailing local paper to correct heist details
digg_url = 'http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/20/brazen-bank-robber-arrested-after-emailing-local-paper-to-correc/'; We know how great the temptation is to throw out a nasty comment when a journalist gets something wrong, but let this story out of Germany be a lesson to you that sometimes discretion is advised. A bank robber aged 19 in Wuerzburg pulled off a bank heist, managing to escape without being identified. The next morning he flipped open the paper to read of his daring exploits. Shocked to see that the press got his height, accent, and means of escape wrong he fired off a scathing missive via e-mail. Surely you can guess what's coming next -- a quick trace of the e-mail told the police where to look, and he's now under arrest, where he's surely writing daily to the warden about the improper fit of his over-alls and how the stripes make him look fat.
Robber holds up bank, doesn't bother to get off his cellphone
Make no mistake, we've seen some fairly boneheaded moves (even someone rocking this very same gaffe!) made by technologically-illiterate bank robbers, but the latest case involves a fellow who was quite the opposite of that. Yes, the 20 to 25 year male who decided to hold up an Alabama bank the day before his taxes were due actually did the deed without hanging up his cellphone. And there's surveillance footage to prove it. Quite honestly, we can't imagine what the conversation here would've been like, but at least he made the most of whatever minutes he had remaining as a free man, right?[Via textually]
Bank robber tosses GPS tracker in sewer during getaway
Granted, crooks who aren't up to speed on their technology have paid dearly (and rightfully so) for their ignorance, but a comical case involving a witty bank robber proved that even master plans involving GPS can be subverted. Reportedly, a woman who made off with an undisclosed amount of cash from a People's Bank in Connecticut somehow realized that a tracking device was stuffed within one of the oh-so-valuable bags. Rather than panicking, however, she simply removed the chip, chucked it in the sewer, and went about her day. It wasn't noted whether the sly criminal was ever brought to justice, but if the fuzz eventually ran her down, it was most certainly done the old fashioned way.[Via TGDaily, image courtesy of NYJWJ]
GPS leads police to loot from bank robbery
Thanks to some quick-thinking bank employees, robber Thomas Fricks was quickly apprehended following a robbery Thursday at the Washington Trust Bank in Spokane. He had herded three employees into the bank vault and threatened to kill their families if they didn't cooperate, asking for $40,000 in "no bait bills." One employee, on the phone with her husband, told him to call the police while another employee stuffed both the money and a GPS device into the duffel bag, enabling the police to track down the getaway minivan within minutes. The best part was the dude's response when the fuzz caught up with him: "You guys are good!"
