Gang member jailed for stealing £1.3 million with cash point computer virus

The gang stole £1,373,640 by activating malware on the ATM computers
Gareth Fuller/PA
Michael Clarke14 January 2016
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A member of a Romanian gang has been jailed for seven years for his part in stealing £1.3 million by infecting high street cash machines with a computer virus.

Teofil Bortos, 36, from east London, admitted conspiring to defraud ATM provider Cardtronics UK in May 2014.

Bortos, Grigore Paladi and other unknown plotters targeted numerous towns and cities across England from Blackpool to Brighton over a bank holiday weekend, the Old Bailey heard.

They made off with £1,373,640 by activating malware on the ATM computers in a carefully planned and sophisticated scam.

Over five days from May 21, they hit 51 cashpoints, although Bortos was only present at 19 where about £191,000 was stolen.

None of the stolen money has been recovered. Following the attacks, the malware deleted itself and no customer data was compromised.

Although Bortos was not accused of inserting the malware himself, the prosecution said he was in a trusted position in the gang and was party to the criminal enterprise.

Bortos, of Cheltenham Gardens, Newham, had a similar status within the gang as Paladi, 37, from Portsmouth, who admitted the conspiracy and was sentenced last February.

The court heard Paladi personally accessed 15 cash machines in Portsmouth, Bognor Regis, Brighton, Liverpool and London and stole £554,860.

Additional reporting by the Press Association.

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