14 DAY TRIAL // Last week, US authorities charged 8 individuals believed to be involved in a scheme in which fraudsters withdrew a total of $45 million (€34 million) from ATMs all around the world. Prosecutors haven’t named the targeted companies.
However, Times of India has learned that the companies targeted by the cybercriminals might be EnStage and ElectraCard Services. The former operates from Bangalore, India, and is based in California, and the latter is based in Pune, India.
ElectraCard Services processes prepaid travel cards for National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah, or RAKBANK. By gaining access to ElectraCard’s systems, the attackers were able to steal $5 million (€3.8 million) from RAKBANK accounts on December 21, 2012.
EnStage on the other hand processes card payments for Oman’s Bank of Muscat. Sources close to the financial institution have told the Times of India that the bank lost $40 million (€30.8 million) in a heist that took place in February 2013.
Govind Setlur, CEO of EnStage, says the company has implemented additional security measures since the incident took place.
“Our customers were adversely affected by this sophisticated crime. We are deeply committed to information security, and we will continue to take all reasonable measures to ensure our networks are secured from criminal actors,” he said.
In addition to the United States, Germany has also arrested a couple of individuals, Dutch citizens, suspected of being involved in the operation. However, ATMs from a total of 27 countries have been used to withdraw the large amounts of money.
After breaching into the systems of the financial institutions, the perpetrators removed the withdrawal limits to make sure they could steal unlimited amounts of money.
Eight individuals, suspected of being part of the New York-based cell, have been charged. One of them – Alberto Yusi Lajud-Peña, believed to be the cell’s leader – was reportedly murdered in the Dominican Republic back in April.