Security

FBI warns of rising ATM jackpotting trend with more than $20M in losses

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February 20, 2026

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The FBI is reporting there have been 1,900 ATM jackpotting attacks since 2020, with 700 taking place in 2025. Last year, the attacks accounted for more than $20 million in losses, according to a report by The Hacker News.

The total in losses from 2021 is around $40.73 million. In these attacks, criminals utilize malware to trick the ATM into dispensing cash. In some cases, the criminals remove the hard drive to install malware or they replace it with a different hard drive. One common malware is Ploutus which exploits the XFS software.

"When a legitimate transaction occurs, the ATM application sends instructions through XFS for bank authorization. If a threat actor can issue their own commands to XFS, they can bypass bank authorization entirely and instruct the ATM to dispense cash on demand," the FBI told the news outlet.

In order to prevent these attacks, the FBI recommends installing sensors, changing out locks or putting in automatic shut down features when the ATM is compromised.

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