Thieves in Northern Virginia robbed a bank ATM of about $175,000 through a high-tech scheme known as “jackpotting,” authorities say. They’re believed to have gotten the ATM to spew cash like they hit the jackpot on a slot machine.
Three suspects in Fairfax County’s first jackpotting case were caught on camera.
The thieves collected the cash for about 30 minutes without ever inserting a card, county police said. Instead, one of the suspects held a phone toward the ATM. Hours earlier, someone opened it with a key.
Capt. Jesse Katzman explained how jackpotting works.
“Hackers are able to install a malware or, like, a virtual black box into some of these ATMs and then – using a USB drive or other electronic devices – they’re able to return at a later date and basically what they call jackpot the ATM, like hitting a jackpot on a slot machine,” he said.
What we know about jackpotting in Fair Oaks, minute-by-minute
First, someone approached an Apple Federal Credit Union drive-up ATM in the 4200 block of Members Way, off Route 29 in the Fair Oaks area, at about 10:18 p.m. on Oct. 3, police said Monday.
They “used a key to open the machine. It remains unclear what actions were taken once it was accessed,” a statement from police said.
The same person returned in a blue, late-model Jeep about two hours later, at about 12:28 a.m. and opened the ATM again. Less than an hour later, at about 1:15 a.m., that person and a second person arrived in the same Jeep and “accessed the machine for about 15 minutes while appearing to record it with their phones,” police said.
At 2 a.m., someone in the Jeep returned and “began withdrawing cash without inserting a card or touching the ATM. He held a phone toward the machine while removing cash, left briefly, and returned at 2:09 a.m., remaining until 2:44 a.m. as withdrawals continued,” police said.
News4 reached out to Apple Federal Credit Union, and we have not heard back.
Why jackpotting isn’t a victimless crime
The crimes don’t pull money from an individual bank account. Rather, they trick the ATM into spitting out the cash inside and the bank takes the hit.
Fairfax County police say jackpotting is not a victimless crime; eventually, ordinary Americans are hurt.
“Financial crimes are not victimless crimes. This money that is stolen from the financial institution is in the form of other things it could be used for like loans and lending,” Katzman said. “[The crimes] affect our interest rates, affect corporate insurance policies and other things like that. So, one way or another, consumers are affected by these crimes. It might not be the money directly from your bank account, but that doesn’t mean that down the line, other people aren’t paying for these crimes.”
Law enforcement agencies around the country have reported jackpotting in several states, including a series of crimes in Texas in which Houston police said were linked to someone in Russia.
Last October, the Justice Department indicted several people from Venezuela for allegedly jackpotting more than $400,000 from various ATMs in upstate New York.
Detectives are hoping someone can identify the men caught on video. Anyone with potentially relevant information is asked to contact police.
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