A police car
Police are searching for two suspects who allegedly stole nearly $60,000 during an ATM jackpotting attack at a Pennsylvania credit union.
Around midnight on Sunday, Oct. 5, police officers were dispatched to the $25.6 million Community Connect Federal Credit Union in Titusville, Pa., about 45 miles south of Erie, Pa. Someone called police to report a suspicious person who was dressed in black, crouching near the ATM.
According to the Titusville Police Department (TPD), officers arrived seconds after the suspects fled the area on foot.
“When officers arrived, there was immediate evidence of the machine being tampered with and approximately $1,000 in cash left at the scene,” TPD said in a statement. “Police deployed multiple K9 units to track the suspects at the scene. TPD has determined that there were at least two actors involved in the theft. The investigation has identified a vehicle that was believed to be involved.”
Police reported $59,500 was stolen over an extended period. The masked suspects gained access to the interior of the ATM and installed malware, giving them unauthorized access to the cash.
Investigators said they believe the suspects were not from the local area.
Community Connect President/CEO Kurtis G. Billig declined to comment when reached on Tuesday. This incident did not affect the accounts of the credit union’s 2,892 members.
David Tente, executive director of the ATM Industry Association (ATMIA) in Sioux City, S.D., reported ATM jackpotting attacks are on the rise throughout the country. In 2023, 200 such attacks resulted in $6 million in losses. By November 2024, that number had increased to 300 attacks, also totaling $6 million losses. Tente cited this data from the U.S. Secret Service, which hosted a Skimming and Payment Terminal Attack group meeting held in Fort Worth, Texas last year.
Peter Strozniak can be reached at pstrozniak@cutimes.com.
© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.