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Cyber Risks · Krebs on Security

Big Bank Mules Target Small Bank Businesses

Summary: A $170,000 cyberheist hit Niles Nursing Inc., an Illinois nursing home provider, on Dec. 17, 2012, when attackers logged into its online banking accounts with the controller's credentials tunneled through his hacked PC and added 11 money mules to the payroll via ACH payments totaling more than $58,000. The thieves pushed two more fraudulent batches over the next two days before Optimum Bank blocked the last one on the 19th, and at least two dozen mules were recruited, all but two using or opening accounts at four of the top five U.S. banks including Bank of America, Chase, Citibank and Wells Fargo.

What you should know: Businesses do not enjoy the same fraud protections as consumers, so a victim organization is legally responsible for the loss when a Trojan drains its online accounts, and reimbursement is entirely up to the bank. Gartner analyst Avivah Litan notes the big banks have no incentive to screen new accounts for mule activity because it is not their customers getting robbed.

Read the original at Krebs on Security ↗

Topics
Data Breaches
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