Secret Service Warning Of ATM 'Jackpotting' Attacks
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The Secret Service is warning of a wave of so-called "jackpotting" attacks that target ATMs across the country.
The modern day bank robberies get their name from the way money spews from the targeted ATMs.
The Secret Service says they typically work in teams with one person gaining access to the machine's hardware and hijacking the computer system, the other returning a short time later to withdraw thousands of dollars.
In a demonstration video released by the MIT Technology Review shows how the money is cleared out quickly, typically dispensing around 40 bills in about 20 seconds.
Using a key purchased online, they open up the machine's facade and unplug a red ethernet cable so the machine can't send an error back to its system saying something is going on and then the hacker then attaches a laptop telling the machine to dispense cash, CBS2's Magdalena Doris.
That's when the secondary person comes in and takes advantage of the jackpot, Doris reported.
It's already happened in towns throughout the U.S., most recently in New England. The Secret Service says there was an alert sent to agents, telling them in the next few days there may be more attacks, Doris reported.
The attacks are targeting just the money inside the ATM itself, and not specific bank accounts, so money is not being withdrawn from individuals.