Over the course of several hours, Fairfax County, Virginia, police say a group stole $175,000 from a credit union last month, using a scheme called ATM jackpotting.
It happened in early October at the Apple Federal Credit Union on Members Way in Fairfax, according to police.
In a news release, police said ATM jackpotting is a cyber-physical crime, in which suspects compromise an ATM to force it to dispense large sums of money. It can be accomplished by installing malware, or a “black box” device, to override the machine’s security. That installation can either happen through physical access, such as a USB drive, or by intercepting communications between the ATM and its network.
In this particular case, police said on Oct. 3, at 10:18 p.m., a man approached the drive-up ATM at the credit union and used a key to open the machine. It’s not clear what other actions the man took while the machine was open, according to police.
Hours later, the same man again opened the ATM just after midnight, at 12:28 a.m.
About 45 minutes later, he returned with another person, and they accessed the machine for about 15 minutes, while seemingly recording the machine with their phones.
The driver began withdrawing cash, without inserting a card or touching the ATM, at around 2 a.m. He held a phone toward the machine as money continued flowing from it, left briefly, and returned, with money pouring out of the machine until 2:44 a.m.
Police hope members of the public can identify the two suspects pictured in surveillance photos. They ask if you have information about the incident or believe you have been a victim, call the financial crimes unit at 703-246-3533. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through crime solvers by phone at 1-866-411-8477, and by web.
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