Banks across Taiwan have suspended cash withdrawals from their Wincor Nixdorf ATMs after one, First Bank, revealed that crooks have stolen more than US$2 million from its machines, probably by infecting them with malware.
The country's top eight banks, including First Bank, Bank of Taiwan and Chang Hwa Bank, have suspended services at a total of 900 ATMs as they check them for signs of tampering, according to the Straits Times.
In a statement, First Bank says that about NT$70 million was taken from 34 machines at 20 branches in Taipei and Taichung over the weekend.
Initial investigations point to malware being installed to make the ATMs dispense large amounts of money automatically. CCTV footage shows two men in hats and masks withdrawing wads of cash over a period of several minutes and dumping them into a backpack before leaving.
According to local press reports, police are searching for three men, believed to be Russian, although two are thought to have already left the island.
First Bank has stressed that none of the withdrawals went through the "bank accounting system" and so no customer deposits are affected.