[HIB]Russian hacking ring specialises in counterfeit checks

[newsbot]

Most of the organised hacking rings aiming at bank fraud these days are stealing login credentials and then taking advantage of the relatively recent opportunities provided by online account access, wire transfers and other means for mis-shipping electronic funds.But a newly discovered Russian group was using networks of compromised personal computers and techniques for hacking into databases to write $9m in counterfeit checks, thought until now to be the purview mainly of old-time loners.SecureWorks researcher Joe Stewart infiltrated the network of machines used by the gang and found records showing that more than 3,000 bad checks had been written on more than 1,000 real accounts since June 2009. The checks were sent to generally unwitting “money mules” recruited from online job sites, who deposited them and wired money to St. Petersburg.The operation had clearly put significant thought into how to stay below the radar. It also did serious reconnaissance to figure out how to produce credible-looking checks. The masterstroke was identifying and going after companies that have thousands of images of checks in one place in order to copy the format.

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