Most of the victims are people who used ATMs in grocery stores, delis and shopping malls, the sources said.

Be careful out there!

Most of the victims are people who used ATMs in grocery stores, delis and shopping malls, the sources said.

That's it... I'm calling the ACLU - this is a clear-cut case of profiling...

;0)

The terrorists need a new source of cash flow funding now that their bankers are drying up beneath the FED's gun. The white collar/financial crimes pin-map in the D.A.'s (Morgy's) office is on overtime.

I'd start looking under a turban or a burka; for starters. However, that would be 'profiling', so let's not jump to any easy collusiions.

Nope. This is just American, long-haired, couch-potato script-kiddies exploiting a publicized hack of ATMs using a specific OS.

Cash. Don't leave home without it.

Most of the ones in delis and such just have a dialup connection to the bank's debit card callin center. If you could intercept that call you might be able to figure out what's going on.
I never liked the ones in there either, I always wondered what guarantees I have with using them.

... grocery stores, delis, and shopping malls ... 7-11's ?

"This is just American, long-haired, couch-potato script-kiddies exploiting a publicized hack of ATMs using a specific OS."

There are several ways to hack individual accounts. The first is to plant a card-reader-bug on the ATM machine itself so that you read the magnetic stripe when someone makes a legitimate ATM withdrawal (and a Video Camera records which four numbers they hit for their password). This has also been done in some malls in the 1980's with an entirely fake ATM machine which simply said "Out of Cash" after the ATM card was read and the password/PIN entered.

Another way is to gain access to the bank's database file of customer ATM's. In both this manner and the one above, the crooks are using the data to create a brand new ATM card.

The killer is that most ATM machines take your picture at every transaction, so sooner or later the kids get busted using their made-up ATM cards.

When you as a customer dispute an ATM withdrawal, the bank will pull your date-stamped picture up from their computer database to see if you are telling the truth about the withdrawal at that time. If the picture isn't you or your wife, you'll get your money credited back to you and the FBI gets called in to chase down whomever was in the picture.

The American Red Cross recognizes this is a terrible time
and solicits your contributions to study this problem.

Big government will solve this problem. They will try to imbed a chip in everyones hand so this will not happen again.

exploiting a publicized hack of ATMs using a specific OS.

Let me guess: Windows?

Think 'Big Blue'...;^)

Hmmm, that could be right. I think most ATMs run OS/2 (or maybe something from NCR). But aren't those just the ATMs run by the big banks? If they said delis they probably mean those small independant ones. What OS do they run?

I revolt when they outlaw greenbacks/CASH

200 x 3000 ... someone is acquiring substantial assets!

600000 in just that bank's cardholders. It's that holiday season, don'tcha know!

When you as a customer dispute an ATM withdrawal, the bank will pull your date-stamped picture up from their computer database to see if you are telling the truth about the withdrawal at that time. If the picture isn't you or your wife, you'll get your money credited back to you and the FBI gets called in to chase down whomever was in the picture.

Trouble is, in my experience the film is no good most of the time.

Twice someone in my family has had a bogus charge on an ATM card. Both times the bank came back and said the film was bad. Not that the lens was covered up, the whole roll was bad.

Plus, what's to keep someone from just putting their hands over the lens, wearing a mask, or a long-billed cap and keeping their heads down.

BTW, both times the bank gave us the money back.

"BTW, both times the bank gave us the money back."

Makes sense. There might even be a few people who simply dispute their own legitimate ATM withdrawals. If the "film is bad" enough times, eventually the bank will get around to fixing the problem and "catching" them. But let the banks worry about that issue.

The important thing is that the consumer isn't harmed by the bank's system being less than foolproof.