ATM hacker’s ‘jackpot’ sting fizzles as Bulgarian suspect nabbed

A slick Bulgarian cyber crook who posed as an ATM repairman to unleash a “jackpot” virus on machines across Thailand has been nicked after cops raided his posh hideout in Nonthaburi.

Cyber cops busted a criminal ring allegedly led by a 50 year old Bulgarian man who used high-tech trickery to sabotage ATM machines and siphon sensitive data, crippling 13 cashpoints and putting the banking sector on high alert.

The alleged ringleader, named as Ivan Valsev, was arrested on Monday, May 26, during a dramatic police raid at a luxury home in Pak Kret’s Bang Plap area.

Officers seized cables, computers, and digital gadgets linked to a hi-tech ATM tampering scam that left financial institutions counting the cost, revealed Police Lieutenant General Trairong Phiwpaen, Commissioner of the Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD), at a press conference yesterday.

“He posed as an ATM repairman, used a master key to gain access, yanked out the real data cables and replaced them with infected ones.”

The gang’s sinister trick? Cables laced with malware, dubbed the “jackpot” virus, which, when installed inside the machine, allowed the crooks to interfere with data transmission using SIM card signals. The hack crippled ATM operations, potentially threatening Thailand’s wider financial security.

Officers began their probe in March after reports from banks about suspicious breakdowns in ATM services. CCTV footage revealed a group of foreign nationals pulling up in a white Honda City, later traced to a rental firm, before carrying out the scam.

Police believe there were at least two or three gang members, all foreign nationals. The footage and rental records led detectives to Valsev’s doorstep.

Inside his plush home, officers uncovered key evidence, stolen transmission cables and a cache of computer gear believed to have been used to orchestrate the scam. An arrest warrant from the Nonthaburi Provincial Court had been issued just one day earlier, MGR Online reported.

Valsev now faces a rap sheet packed with cybercrime charges. He’s accused of:

• Interfering with protected computer data.

• Tampering with ATM electronics to commit theft.

• Hacking into systems linked to national economic security.

• Using a vehicle to aid his crimes and avoid capture.

Despite the overwhelming digital footprint left behind, Valsev denied everything. He told officers the cables and devices were simply “his own equipment” and claimed he “only opened the ATM.”

Police say they’re not buying it, and the hunt is now on for his suspected accomplices, believed to still be at large.

“We are expanding the investigation to identify everyone involved,” said Pol. Maj. Gen. Sirawat Deepo, Commander of TCSD Division 1. “This is not just about theft, this attack threatened the stability of our financial systems.”

Investigators are now combing through the seized electronics for digital evidence, as Thailand’s cyber crime task force works to shut down the rest of the gang’s network before more ATMs go dark.