News

Malaysian crime ring hacks into Neb. bank's computer system

July 24, 2003

KEARNEY, Neb. -- Some customers of Kearney's Platte Valley Bank lost access to their debit card accounts after a Malaysian counterfeit ring hacked into the bank's computer system and attacked its Visa Check Card program.

The Associated Press, citing a report in the Kearney Hub, said that a Malaysian crime ring stole debit card numbers and made a number of $13.99 transactions on Platte Valley Bank accounts over the July 19 weekend.

Mark Sutko, the bank's president, said the bank halted the fraudulent authorizations and was able to identify all the card numbers involved. The bank sent letters to customers whose accounts were targeted, he said.

"We limited the impact to a small number of customers," Sutko told the Kearney Hub. "No customers sustained any losses. The only impact felt by our customers is the inconvenience of getting new debit cards issued to them."

Todd Stover of Kearney was among Platte Valley debit card holders whose accounts were affected. When Stover tried to withdraw cash from an ATM on July 21, the machine would not accept his PIN.

Stover said he was required to order a new debit card with a different account number. He said an authorized charge of $13.99 appeared on his account, but the bank immediately removed the transaction.

Sutko said law enforcement officials would not be contacted about the situation and the bank is handling the problem internally.

"Platte Valley also has implemented additional fraud prevention processes and technology features to lessen this type of fraud exposure and help prevent it from re-occurring in the future," he added.