Eastern European hackers have been indicted by a federal grand jury for a hack that allowed them and their accomplices to steal $9M in a single day from credit card processor RBS WorldPay.
The US Department of Justice today issued a statement that four hackers from Estonia, Moldavia and Russia have been indicted on charges of hacking into a computer network operated by Royal Bank of Scotland’s WorldPay division. They were charged with 16 counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit computer fraud, computer fraud, access device fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Additionally, four fraudsters from Tallinn, Estonia, were indicted for access device fraud, for using fake payroll debit cards to withdraw cash from ATMs.
The hackers got into the RBS WorldPay system and copied a database of payroll debit cards that employees use to withdraw their regular salaries from ATMs. The hackers then created 44 cloned payroll debit cards, and sent them to a network of “cashers” around the world. Those criminals used the cards in a single coordinated effort to withdraw $9M in a single day. The cashers were allowed to keep about half of the money, and sent the rest to the European hackers.
These indictments are a major triumph for world wide law enforcement, and illustrate the success that can be achieved when law enforcement agencies work together across borders.
“Last November, in just one day, an American credit card processor was hacked in perhaps the most sophisticated and organized computer fraud attack ever conducted. Today, almost exactly one year later, the leaders of this attack have been charged. This investigation has broken the back of one of the most sophisticated computer hacking rings in the world. This success would not have been possible without the efforts of the victim, and unprecedented cooperation from various law enforcement agencies worldwide,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates of the Northern District of Georgia.
Read the US Department of Justice statement here.
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on Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 at 11:10 pm and is filed under Law Enforcement, eCrime.
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