Hacked ATMs Steal $500G From Bank Customers
May 11, 2009 by national
Filed under Incident Reports
A sophisticated band of thieves managed to steal personal information and more than half a million dollars from hundreds of New York City bank customers by rigging ATMs in what police say is further evidence of the continued assault on personal data by identity thieves.
Police said the identity thieves installed devices on ATM machines at Sovereign Bank branches in Staten Island that enabled them to collect account and PIN numbers, the New York Daily News reported Monday.
First they placed skimmers on the slots where customers inserted their bank card that could read and store the information. Then a tiny camera was hidden in the lighted sign on the ATM that filmed customers typing in PIN codes, the Daily News reported.
“This crew is sophisticated,” Deputy Inspector Gregory Antonsen, head of the NYPD’s special investigations division, told the Daily News. “And they are coming up with new ways to steal your identity every day.”
The ATM-riggers managed to steal more than $500,000 from more than 250 victims.
They also created fake ATM cards with the same magnetic codes as the victims and used the cards at different banks, police said.
Stolen Medical Records? Hacker’s Demand $10 Million
May 6, 2009 by national
Filed under Homeland Security News
The FBI is investigating a $10 million ransom demand by a hacker or hackers who say they have stolen nearly 8.3 million patient records from a Virginia government Web site that tracks prescription drug abuse, an FBI official confirmed Wednesday.
The state police in Virginia are also investigating the possible breach of confidential records.
The FBI official said the Virginia Information Technologies Agency VITA referred the case to the FBI last week, asking for help.
Asked whether people’s personal information is secure, the official said he couldn’t say.
“I really can’t make a declarative statement as to whether anyone’s information is in jeopardy at this point,” the official said.
Asked whether people have been notified that their information may have been breached, the official said it would be up to VITA to do that.
Palmtop Computer Stolen From Open Window In M15 Hideout
October 3, 2008 by national
Filed under World Report
A burglar who climbed into the property in Greater Manchester on Sunday night got away with the terminal which contained highly sensitive information about national security.
The house was being rented by the national intelligence service but the device was encrypted, so a security breach is thought unlikely.
A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said: “Shortly after 11.20pm police Sunday 28th September were called to a house in Greater Manchester, following reports of a burglary.
“An encrypted handheld computer was stolen. It is believed the offender entered through an open window. Inquiries are ongoing.”
He asked anyone who was offered the stolen property to hand it in to the nearest police station. Police sources told Times Online that it is believed to be an opportunistic rather than targeted burglary.
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