FAIRFAX, Va.—A group of criminals stole $175,000 from a credit union using a ATM jackpotting scheme, according to police.
The crime, which is just now being reported, took place in early October at an Apple Federal Credit Union machine on Members Way in Fairfax, according to Fairfax County police.
As the CU Daily has been reporting, numerous CUs across the country have been hit by ATM jackpotting, in which suspects compromise an ATM using malware or a “black box” device to force it to dispense large sums of money by overriding security. That installation can either happen through physical access, such as a USB drive, or by intercepting communications between the ATM and its network.
Police suspect the same gangs or individuals are behind many of the crimes.
In this particular case, Fairfax police reported that on Oct. 3, at 10:18 p.m., a man approached the drive-up ATM at the credit union and used a key to open the machine. It’s unclear what other actions the man took while the machine was open, police said.
Withdrawing Cash Without Card
Hours later, the same man again opened the ATM just after midnight, at 12:28 a.m., and then about 45 minutes later returned with another person, and they accessed the machine for about 15 minutes, while seemingly recording the machine with their phones, police said.
“The driver began withdrawing cash, without inserting a card or touching the ATM, at around 2 a.m. He held a phone toward the machine as money continued flowing from it, left briefly, and returned, with money pouring out of the machine until 2:44 a.m,” according to police.
