I realize there are stupid criminals out there after all we see them on half hour TV shows all the time I think this one has to rank up there as far as being a dumb idea.

Much like a robber trying to rob a bar where off-duty cops like to hang, the idea of someone putting a fake ATM machine meant to steal people’s information at this hotel where this year’s Defcon conference was held doesn’t show much in the way of smarts. That didn’t deter someone though as the conference goers found out when they noticed the machine that some said just didn’t look right.

As the conference was kicking off a few days ago, attendees noticed that at ATM placed in the Riviera Hotel, which plays host to the annual event, didn’t quite look right, according to a senior conference organizer who identified himself only as Priest. "They looked at the screen where there would normally be a camera," he said. "It was a little bit too dark, so someone shined a flashlight in there and there was a PC."

The ATM looked like a working system, but when people would put their cards in the machine, it would scan their card information and record the PIN numbers they entered. He didn’t know how long the ATM had been at the Riviera.

Conference organizers notified local law enforcement who hauled away the machine on "Thursday or Friday," said Priest, who said he works as a "civil servant" in his day job.

Source: Computer World :: Fake ATM doesn’t last long at hacker meet

The idiots may not have realized they were putting the machine into a hotel that would soon be the temporary home to 8,000 security professionals but given this is Las Vegas one would hope that it would have been found out in short notice.

Fake ATM at Defcon … not the brightest idea is a post from: The Inquisitr

Servers at Clyde’s of Gallery Place, M&S Grill and 701 Restaurant, along with Maryland workers as Carrabba’s Italian Grill and the Gaylord Hotel are allegedly responsible for the theft of the credit card numbers using easily obtainable skimming devices. The DC skimming ring first rang the alarm bells of Citibank who noticed an increase in fraudulent transactions trailing legitimate card use at Clyde’s. In this case a single server wound up accounting for $107,000 in bogus charges.

The most prestigious, and recent, hot spot was 701 Restaurant, the clubby eatery where Hillary Clinton rang out her presidential campaign last June. Restaurant owner Ashok Bajaj says the Secret Service told him about the skimming earlier this month. According to court records, cash register logs tied $38,000 in fraudulent transactions to cards handled by server Lavelle Denise Payne from August 2008 until this month.

At the agency’s request, Bajaj kept Payne on for another week while the government firmed up its case. "We watched her very carefully for that week," says Bajaj. "She was the nicest person. I don’t know. Maybe this is a sign of the economy."

"It’s very sad when people do these things," Bajaj adds. "I mean, she was making excellent money working at the restaurant. But I guess it’s never enough."

Source: Threat Level

Along with the ringleader, Joseph Artemus Bush III, two alleged confederates Erick V. Burton and Aaron Gilbert were charged. The four servers that were charged were Lavelle Denise Payne, Shannon Eileen McLaughlin, Jamaal Snowden and Simone Carrie Diane Folk.

Washington DC hit by credit card cloning is a post from: The Inquisitr