100 thieves steal $13 million from ATM in 3 hours

(Baonghean.vn) - Japanese police said on May 23 that an international criminal organization had brazenly stolen more than 1.4 billion yen (equivalent to 12.7 million USD) from automatic teller machines (ATMs) in Japan in less than 3 hours.

Nearly $13 million stolen in just three hours in Japan. Photo: Alamy

Police believe up to 100 people worked together to use fake credit cards from illegal accounts at a South African bank to withdraw money. No arrests have been made.

Thieves used fake cards to withdraw money from 1,400 ATMs in Tokyo and 16 other prefectures on the morning of May 15, Japanese police said.

They withdrew 100,000 yen at a time - the maximum allowed for a single withdrawal. The theft began at 5am and the last person withdrew the money at 8am the same day.

Japanese police have asked authorities in South Africa, through Interpol, to explain why credit card information was stolen.

It is believed that the gang may no longer be in Japan. By using cards issued in another country and using them while the banks where they committed the crimes were still closed, the thieves were able to buy time to flee before being discovered.

Japan is the latest country in a string of ATM thefts involving counterfeit credit cards. In 2012 and 2013, a thief stole 4.5 billion yen in 26 countries.

Thanh Hien

(According to The Guardian)