Indonesian police nab six M'sians for hacking into ATM accounts

JAKARTA: Police here detained six Malaysians for allegedly hacking into the accounts of 112 bank customers through automated teller machines (ATMs) and stealing Rupiah 1.24 billion (RM350,040).

The accounts belonged to the customers of Bank Central Asia (BCA).

The police, in cooperation with the immigration directorate-general, nabbed the suspects, aged between 24 and 42, as they were leaving for Singapore via the Batam Central ferry terminal on Feb 28.

National Police Special Economic Crime chief Brig Gen Arief Sulistyanto said the Malaysians were part of a 21-member syndicate which had installed skimmers and electronic devices that could read data from customers' cards on four BCA ATM machines in Jakarta and Bandung.

"Between Feb 8 and 15, the syndicate had installed skimmers on the card slots and small cameras above the BCA ATM machines in Pondok Indah Hospital, Pantai Indah Kapuk Hospital and the Husada Hospital in Jakarta, as well as the Boromeus Hospital in Bandung.

 "The cameras were used to record the bank customers' PIN numbers. Syndicate members could encode customer data, using any card with magnetic stripes, including hotel key cards.

 "Using duplicate cards, the syndicate withdrew a total of Rupiah 1.24 billion, via ATM machines in Medan and Batam," he was quoted in Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

After receiving a tip-off on unauthorised ATM transactions from BCA, the police discovered the identities and nationality of the alleged perpetrators.

Police seized 24 ATM cards, 11 cell phones and a laptop from the suspects.

Arief said investigations also revealed that the syndicate had stolen customer data from other banks, but that so far, only BCA had lodged a police report.

BCA president Jahja Setiaatmadja said the bank had paid compensation to customers who were victims of the fraud.

Immigration Investigation and Enforcement director Mirza Iskandar said his office was in the midst of tracking down the whereabouts of the 15 accomplices. - Bernama