Acting with a stunning degree of cyber-skill and tremendously precise coordination, a network of thieves stole $45 million from ATM machines in 26 countries in two global ripoffs, federal authorities said Thursday.
The breathtaking computer-based capers included $2.8 million in funds stolen with ease from cash machines in New York City, marking the biggest cash theft in the city since the infamous $5 million Lufthansa heist at Kennedy Airport in 1978.
The money came from information stolen from databases of prepaid debit cards that was then copied onto doctored plastic cards with magnetic strips. The international thefts were pulled off this past Dec. 22, when $5 million was taken, and again on Feb. 19-20, which proved to be the true jackpot, netting $40 million in 36,000 transactions within 10 hours.
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