Turkish Hacker Gets 8 Years In US Jail For ATM Theft Scheme

The mastermind behind three cyberattacks that allowed the theft of $55 million from ATMs worldwide has been sentenced to eight years in a US prison, Reuters reports. Ercan Findikoglu of Turkey allegedly carried out these crimes while facing Turkish charges for fake payment cards and was out on bail.

Prosecutors say Findikoglu and his accomplices hacked the database of debit card companies in “unlimited operations” and deleted the withdrawal limits of card accounts. This enabled “cashers” in worldwide locations to simultaneously withdraw cash from ATMs using data of victims stolen by Findikoglu. In one instance, $40 million was allegedly withdrawn using Oman’s Bank Muscat cards by cashers located in 24 countries and through 36,000 transactions.

Thirteen New York cashers allegedly involved in the theft of $2.8 million have pleaded guilty.

Findikoglu will be deported to Turkey for completing his sentence there once his US prison term is over, says defense lawyer Christopher Madiou.

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