Canadian Man Arrested For Operating Sophisticated ATM Theft Scam in Massachusetts

On Thursday, a Canadian man living in the Boston area was arrested for operating a sophisticated ATM theft ring which stolen the bank account information and money from an unknown number of consumers. WBZ Television in Boston reported:

"Police said at least $100,000 was swiped from unsuspected bank customers. The scam could impact many consumers in and around Boston. Izaylo Hristov, 28, faces larceny charges after a Citizens Bank in Quincy noticed weird activity and called police, which led to an investigation and an arrest."

Reportedly, Hristov told police that two other men participated in his ATM theft scam. The criminals attached card-skimming devices over the debit card slots to steal bank customers' account numbers and installed tiny cameras within the ATM booths to record bank customers' personal identification numbers (PINs). The thieves sat in a car near each ATM booth with a wireless router to download the stolen bank account information. Then, the thieves created duplicate ATM cards to withdrew money from victims' bank accounts at other ATM locations.

From WBZ Radio:

"Norfolk County District Attorney William Keating on Thursday alleged 28-year-old Izaylo Hristov of Ontario, Canada, was part of a gang that loaded the stolen information on new cards to withdraw thousands of dollars from various bank accounts."

Hristov's accomplices have not been arrested yet. A Quincy District Court judge has ordered Hristov held on $1 million cash bail, or $10 million surety.

Consumers should read this blog post with tips about how to recognize and avoid using ATM machines that has been tampered with.

Comments

[Diane Reilly]

ATM physical attacks are passed out with the purpose of access to the money inside the ATM protected. The most general methods include power attack, unstable attacks and cutting the machine etc.