Press "Enter" to skip to content

Japan ATM heist larger than first reported

Thieves used forged credit cards to steal cash from ATMs throughout Japan in May
Thieves used forged credit cards to steal cash from ATMs throughout Japan in May

TOKYO (TR) – Investigative sources revealed this week that a quick-strike theft that targeted ATMs nationwide included a previously unreported bank and management service, bringing total losses in the heist to nearly two billion yen, reports the Yomiuri Shimbun (June 2).

In the new revelations, police said that an international gang of thieves using forged credit cards with data leaked from a bank in South Africa stole approximately 420 million yen from more than 320 ATMs established by Japan Post Bank and E-net.

It was previously reported that the gang, believed to include more that 100 persons, withdrew 1.44 billion yen in cash from about 1,400 ATMs installed at convenience stores in under three hours on May 15.

The targeted ATMs were installed in convenience stores in 17 administrative districts, including Tokyo and the prefectures of Kanagawa, Aichi, Osaka and Fukuoka.

The total lost in the heist now stands at 1.86 billion yen.

Earlier this week, police arrested two Japanese men, Tatsuo Nakazono and Katsuya Sahashi, both 28, for allegedly using fake credit cards to withdraw 1.2 million yen from ATM machines in Aichi.

The targeted financial institution in South Africa for the data leak was Standard Bank. It had originally announced losses of 19 million dollars in the incident.