ASSESSMENTS

To Catch a Cyber Thief

Jun 3, 2016 | 09:15 GMT

To Catch a Cyber Thief
In the early hours of May 15, hundreds of people withdrew millions of dollars from more than 1,000 ATMs throughout Japan using fraudulent information. The case appears to be the latest major unlimited operation, a burgeoning form of cybercrime.

(KATAMAKURA/Wikimedia)

Financial institutions face a growing list of cyberthreats that can detract from the bottom line. And increasingly, cybercrime and street crime are finding common ground. In the early hours of May 15, more than 100 individuals used fraudulent financial information to make nearly 14,000 withdrawals from ATMs at 1,400 7-Eleven convenience store locations scattered throughout Japan, according to Japanese police. As a result, South Africa's Standard Bank suffered $12.7 million in losses, though its individual customers did not lose any money. This suggests that the heist was not a case of widespread identity theft but rather a more sophisticated form of electronic intrusion known as an unlimited operation....

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