A Turkish computer hacker who helped steal US$55 million from cash machines in dozens of countries using data from credit card issuers was sentenced to eight years in prison on Friday.
Ercan Findikoglu pleaded guilty last year to computer intrusion, fraud and other charges relating to organizing the round-the-world operation in which operatives used bogus credit and debit cards to raid thousands of bank accounts via cash dispensing machines.
The thefts took place in three distinct, tightly organized operations between 2011 and 2013.
The third operation, on Feb. 19 and 20, 2013, involved crews withdrawing nearly US$40 million in 36,000 ATM transactions in 24 hours. That included 3,000 withdrawals over 10 hours for US$2.4 million in New York alone, according to prosecutors.
Large withdrawals were enabled by Findikoglu being able to hack into card issuer computers and remove withdrawal limits on customer accounts.
Fake bank cards were distributed to the street crews who raised the ATMs.
Findikoglu was arrested in December 2013 in Frankfurt, Germany and extradited to the US in 2015.
“Findikoglu was a skilled hacker who chose to use his considerable computer talents for criminal financial gain and to wreak economic havoc, rather than for legitimate pursuits,” US Attorney Robert Capers said.
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
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