Tuning into cash machines
p2pnet.net News:- You know those movies where the bad guy has this really cool looking electronic thingy he plugs into cash machines?
Well, maybe it was an mp3 player.
A man in Manchester has been convicted of using one to read credit card details, says Out-Law.com.
Maxwell Parsons, 41, “plugged his MP3 player into the back of free standing cash machines and was able to use it to read data about customers’ cards,” says the story.
“That [sic] data could then be used to ‘clone’ cards and use them for bogus purchases.
“Free standing machines are typically found in shops and bars, and they allowed Parsons to plug his machine into the back of them in a way that would be impossible in wall mounted dispensers. The MP3 player recorded customer details as they were transmitted over phone lines to the bank. Tones were read as they were transmitted and used to clone cards.”
It’s thought to have been the first fraud of its type in Britain, “carried out before the new chip and pin system was introduced to crack down on similar scams,” says The Manchester Evening News.
Parsons and his gang sourced specialised software from the Ukraine or Canada to translate the stolen data into a readable format, says the story, adding:
“Using other technology, Parsons was able to use the data to re-encode and clone a number of cards. A similar fraud had been carried out in Malaysia by other conmen which was said to have crippled the country’s banking system.”
So, did equally high-tech sleuthing cop Parsons?
Nope. It was the fickle finger of fate.
Police caught Parsons, who was sentenced to was sentenced to 32 months in jail, after they’d stopped him for making an illegal u-turn in a car in London, says Out-Law.com.
Also See:
Out-Law.com – Man used MP3 player to hack cash machines, November 17, 2006
The Manchester Evening News – Cash machine bug scam expert jailed, November 15, 2006
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November 19th, 2006 at 6:31 pm
then they found illegal mp3’s on the player and dropped the card theft charges and he pleads guilty to copyright infringement.