Santander fixes ATM glitch that allowed scammers to overdraw prepaid debit cards

Dive Brief:

More than 100 people were arrested this week in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut after someone shared a video on social media with instructions on how to exploit a glitch in Santander ATMs. The glitch allowed customers to withdraw more money than is on prepaid debit cards, such as those bought in a convenience store.
Santander closed several of its ATMs after learning of the suspicious activity, a bank spokesperson said in a statement, according to NJ.com. The glitch has been fixed and the ATMs have since been reopened, but are available only to Santander customers, according to PIX11 News.
Police on Staten Island discovered the scam when, while driving by a branch, they saw two groups fighting outside. The groups apparently were both there to pull off the scam when they got into a dispute, a police source told the New York Post.

Dive Insight:

"You put your pin in and everything," an unidentified man standing at a Santander ATM tells a camera before pressing withdrawal, in a video obtained by the Post. "You hit checking. You click $200. After you click $200, you go back. Click other, customize withdrawal. You click 'choose your own mix.' Press the $20 option one time. Once you see that 11, you know you lit."

In a statement, Santander said it was continuing to cooperate with authorities. "Customers should know that there has been no impact to their accounts, data or funds," the statement said.

Police in several New Jersey counties arrested dozens of alleged scammers Tuesday — most charged with theft for unlawful taking, and most from New York City, NJ.com reported.

Police in Robbinsville, New Jersey, arrested 20 people furiously withdrawing money from a Santander ATM after someone alerted authorities to a large gathering, the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement. Fifty-eight people were arrested in the county, including 20 in Hamilton, with proceeds topping $250,000, authorities said. Twenty more people were arrested in Morris County, at least 11 in Middlesex County and at least 10 in Monmouth County, authorities and sources told NJ.com.

Upon hearing of the scam, police in South Windsor, Connecticut, posted their own warning on Twitter.

"We have been made aware of an ATM scam in which suspects are using Santander Bank ATM's to fraudulently withdraw cash using fake debit cards. Since we have a branch in town (1765 Ellington Rd), we are asking any citizen using their ATM to use caution when withdrawing money," the tweet said.