A network of ATM fraudsters, which has generated approximately €580,000 ($681,360) in profit, has been dismantled by law enforcement agencies in Romania and the UK, with support from Europol and Eurojust.
According to a Europol statement published on July 24, Romanian and British investigators first collected information on the fraudsters and their criminal activity, which was later analyzed by the European law enforcement agency.
The findings were shared among the different members of the joint investigation team (JIT) during operational meetings held at Europol offices.
After gathering sufficient evidence, the enforcement officers conducted 18 house searches in two coordinated raids – one in the UK in December 2024 and another in Romania on July 23.
These raids resulted in two arrests and the seizure of real estate, luxury cars, electronic devices and cash.
The agencies involved in the operation include Romania’s National Police (Poliția Română) and Prosecutor's Office and the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service and Eastern Region Special Operations Unit.
Europol deployed an analyst to Romania to assist the national authorities with their enforcement actions. Eurojust supported the establishment of the joint investigation team, provided cross-border judicial assistance and helped with the preparation of the action day on the ground in Romania.
The Transaction Reversal Fraud Method Explained
The investigation also revealed that the fraudsters were using the Transaction Reversal Fraud (TRF) method to steal money from ATMs.
This technique involves removing the ATM screen, inserting a bank card, and initiating a withdrawal. Just before the cash is dispensed, the transaction is canceled, allowing the criminals to manually extract the money before the machine retracts it.
The perpetrators were also involved in other criminal activities, including skimming, counterfeiting payment and transport cards and conducting a bin attack, a fraudulent scheme that uses software to identify card numbers and generate illegal profits through unauthorized transactions.
Read now: SuperCard X Enables Contactless ATM Fraud in Real-Time
No tags.
