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German gets 4 years in clink for $14 MILLION global ATM fraud

‘No such thing as anonymity in the cyber world’ says Secret Service agent

A German man has been sentenced to 50 months in prison and ordered to repay $14m after he hacked into US banks, stealing debit card data and even removed withdrawal limits.

Qendrim Dobruna, 29, also known as "closEd" and "cLoz", stole card data and spread it worldwide. The stolen credentials were used to make fraudulent ATM withdrawals in excess of $14m in a single weekend, according to the US Attorney's Office.

"The defendants and his co-conspirators participated in a massive 21st Century heist that stretched around the globe," said Kelly T. Currie, acting US attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

"Using sophisticated methods, the organisation reached into the computer systems of American-based corporations and transmitted illegally obtained private financial information to confederates in 18 different countries who stole millions of dollars from hundreds of ATMs in a matter of hours," added Currie.

Dobruna's crimes took place between 27 February and 1 March 2011. He and his gang conducted an "unlimited operation", which began with them hacking into the computer systems of a credit card processor.

There they compromised prepaid debit card accounts and removed the withdrawal limits and account balances of those accounts. The elimination enabled the criminals to withdraw unlimited amounts of cash until the operation was shut down.

To manage that, the organisation distributed the hacked prepaid debit card numbers to trusted associates around the world, who then immediately withdraw cash from ATMs.

At the end of an operation, when the cards are finally shut down, so-called "casher cells" launder the proceeds – often investing the operation's proceeds in luxury goods – and kick back money to the cybercrime organization's leaders.

"Today’s sentence serves as a warning to cybercriminals around the world that law enforcement is committed to solving these cybercrimes, no matter how sophisticated, and bringing the perpetrators to justice, wherever they may be found," said Currie.

"There is no such thing as anonymity in the cyber world," added Secret Service special agent in charge, Robert J. Sica, who added: "Secret Service agents utilise state-of-the-art investigative techniques to identify and pursue cyber criminals around the world."

The defendant, from his apartment in Stuttgart, Germany, participated in the cyber-attack by obtaining account information from his co-conspirators, who had directly hacked into the US-based financial institution's database. They then sold that account information to other co-conspirators over the net, including to an individual in Brooklyn, New York.

In announcing the guilty plea, Currie praised the efforts of the Secret Service in responding so rapidly to the attacks, and investigating both the complex network intrusions that occurred overseas and the criminal activity that took place locally. ®

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