Category Archives: Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project

How Cyber Sleuths Cracked an ATM Shimmer Gang

Posted on by

In 2015, police departments worldwide started finding ATMs compromised with advanced new “shimming” devices made to clone data from chip card transactions. Authorities in the United States and abroad had seized many of these shimmers, but for years couldn’t decrypt the data on the devices. This is a story of ingenuity and happenstance, and how one former Secret Service agent helped crack a code that revealed the contours of a global organized crime ring. Continue reading How Cyber Sleuths Cracked an ATM Shimmer Gang→

Boss of ATM Skimming Syndicate Arrested in Mexico

Posted on by

Florian “The Shark” Tudor, the alleged ringleader of a prolific ATM skimming gang that has stolen hundreds of millions from tourists visiting Mexico over the past eight years, was arrested in Mexico City on Thursday in response to an extradition warrant from a Romanian court. Continue reading Boss of ATM Skimming Syndicate Arrested in Mexico→

Mexican Politician Removed Over Alleged Ties to Romanian ATM Skimmer Gang

Posted on by

The leader of Mexico’s Green Party has been removed from office following allegations that he received money from a Romanian ATM skimmer gang that stole hundreds of millions of dollars from tourists visiting Mexico’s top tourist destinations over the past five years. The scandal is the latest fallout stemming from a three-part investigation into the organized crime group by KrebsOnSecurity in 2015. Continue reading Mexican Politician Removed Over Alleged Ties to Romanian ATM Skimmer Gang→

Promising Infusions of Cash, Fake Investor John Bernard Walked Away With $30M

Posted on by

September featured two stories on a phony tech investor named John Bernard, a pseudonym used by a convicted thief named John Clifton Davies who’s fleeced dozens of technology companies out of an estimated $30 million with the promise of lucrative investments. Those stories prompted a flood of tips from Davies’ victims that paint a much clearer picture of this serial con man and his cohorts, including allegations of hacking, smuggling, bank fraud and murder. Continue reading Promising Infusions of Cash, Fake Investor John Bernard Walked Away With $30M→

Romanian Skimmer Gang in Mexico Outed by KrebsOnSecurity Stole $1.2 Billion

Posted on by

An exhaustive inquiry published today by a consortium of investigative journalists says a three-part series KrebsOnSecurity published in 2015 on a Romanian ATM skimming gang operating in Mexico’s top tourist destinations disrupted their highly profitable business, which raked in an estimated $20 million a month and enjoyed the protection of top Mexican authorities. Continue reading Romanian Skimmer Gang in Mexico Outed by KrebsOnSecurity Stole $1.2 Billion→

Report: ATM Skimmer Gang Had Protection from Mexican Attorney General’s Office

Posted on by

A group of Romanians operating an ATM company in Mexico and suspected of bribing technicians to install sophisticated Bluetooth-based skimmers in cash machines throughout several top Mexican tourist destinations have enjoyed legal protection from a top anti-corruption official in the Mexican attorney general’s office, according to a new complaint filed with the government’s internal affairs division. Continue reading Report: ATM Skimmer Gang Had Protection from Mexican Attorney General’s Office→