Criminals Rob Thousands of Dollars From ATMs Using Raspberry Pi

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There’s more than one way to get your cut of the Pi.

Raspberry Pi
(Image credit: ABC, KAMC)

A trio of criminals were recently caught in Lubbock, Texas, using Raspberry Pis to bypass security on ATMs to commit a series of burglaries. According to EverythingLubbock, a local news station reporting on the group's recent arrest, the trio stole over $5,000 (USD) from multiple ATMs around West Texas. Hat tip to LeePSPVideo for alerting us to the story.

A paywall shields the official court documents, but EverythingLubbock has summarized the charges. The three were arrested on August 3rd after authorities learned of their burglaries. The three were taken into custody after being found in a hotel room that contained a few Raspberry Pis among the recovered evidence.

According to EverythingLubbock, the court records explain that the Raspberry Pis were used to deactivate security, which allowed the criminals access to the cash drawer. Details are scarce confirming exactly how they interfered with the ATMs or how the security was breached.

The three received a charge of Unlawful Interception, Use, or Disclosure of Wire, Oral, or Electronic Communications and Engaging in Criminal Activity. One member received an additional charge of Forgery. More information about the charges is available in the official court records at PacerMonitor.

The records reportedly confirm that the group was directly witnessed stealing more than $5700 (USD) from one ATM. Police reported finding two Raspberry Pis in the burglars’ hotel room—the exact model of Pi was not specified, nor was it confirmed how the Pis were used beyond as tools to bypass security somehow.

Additional details about the court case, including the abovementioned summary, are available at the EverythingLubbock website. If you want to see more lawful ways to experiment with your Raspberry Pi, check out our Raspberry Pi projects of the month list for some inspiring creations made with our favorite SBC that won’t imprison you.

Ash Hill
Ash Hill
Contributing Writer

Ash Hill is a contributing writer for Tom's Hardware with a wealth of experience in the hobby electronics, 3D printing and PCs. She manages the Pi projects of the month and much of our daily Raspberry Pi reporting while also finding the best coupons and deals on all tech.

14 Comments Comment from the forums
  • PEnns
    "A paywall shields the official court documents"
    You have to pay for public records in Texas?? I guess they're desperate for money in that wealthy oil state!!

    And hey, turns out there is an audience for all those Pi articles here....:p
    Reply
  • usertests
    Finally, a worthwhile Pi project.
    Reply
  • thisisaname
    PEnns said:
    "A paywall shields the official court documents"
    You have to pay for public records in Texas?? I guess they're desperate for money in that wealthy oil state!!

    And hey, turns out there is an audience for all those Pi articles here....:p
    I wonder if they pay Pi Rates for the articles :ROFLMAO:
    Reply
  • Infamy
    Bunch of banks are gonna look to patch this.. Kinda surprised they havent yet. Its funny to me how idiotic people pull off things like this. If they were actually smart they wouldn't have gotten caught so quick and probably could have made off with tons of money. So, I guess it's good that they were stupid enough to get caught that fast so other places don't get ripped off...
    Reply
  • Sippincider
    Infamy said:
    Bunch of banks are gonna look to patch this.. Kinda surprised they havent yet. Its funny to me how idiotic people pull off things like this.
    Per folks I knew who serviced ATMs: "We can't tell you everything, but we can tell you nobody's getting money out without someone knowing about it!"

    And likely prison time for $5700 between the three of them? Thanks but I'll find another career.
    Reply
  • umeng2002_2
    Ummm... based
    Reply
  • derekullo
    Willing and Abel!
    Reply
  • Davis422
    Hopefully they put the project up on instructables or somewhere similar
    Reply
  • radarjd
    Saying that it's "behind a paywall" is a bit much. It's listed in the US Federal Government's PACER ("Public Access to Court Electronic Records") system at https://pacer.uscourts.gov. Yes, there is a per search / per document fee, but it's waived if you accrue less than $30 / month in charges.

    In any event, it's case number 5:23-cr-00087-H-BQ, USA v Ruiz et al in the Northern District of Texas. The indictment contains very little detail. The defendants (themselves) filed a motion to suppress the evidence collected in the search which is actually relatively well written, though it misunderstands some of the law involved (of course, lawyers do that too).
    Reply
  • Clemenator
    PEnns said:
    "A paywall shields the official court documents"
    You have to pay for public records in Texas?? I guess they're desperate for money in that wealthy oil state!!

    And hey, turns out there is an audience for all those Pi articles here....:p
    Pacermonitor appears to be a intermediary site where one can get court documents, that doesn't really have any affiliation with any government.

    Also, PACER is a US entity having nothing to do with Texas.
    Reply