TULSA, Okla. — A man has been arrested and police are searching for other suspects after thousands were stolen from an ATM.
Eduardo Garcia faces several charges from the crime. He was one of nine suspects.
TPD says they were tipped off by the Secret Service that this criminal ring could be in Tulsa, and they got an alert from an ATM on May 19 that the thieves were here.
"It's what we call ATM jackpotting," said TPD Lt. Andrew Weeden.
Yes, it's a lot like winning the slots, but it starts with installing a virus in the ATM
“What the malware does is, it's a virus, and it will instruct the machine to dispense all the cash that's inside," Weeden said.
It happened at the QuikTrip near Admiral and Sheridan. Nine suspects came up to the ATM, one at a time, and made multiple withdraws, according to court documents.
An affidavit says, in total, the group pulled out $35,200. The affidavit also says that the nine were working together and Garcia told investigators they were taking direction from someone in Orlando, Florida.
"ATM jackpotting has hit Tulsa in 2021 and we've seen it again in 2023, but this crew alone in the last month had hit Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas," Weeden said.
The affidavit says since 2021, ATM jackpotting has cost the Bank of Oklahoma $6 million.
Weeden says two other suspects from the crew were arrested in Oklahoma City the night before.
“So while we're hopeful putting a dent in this crew, there is indications that they'll just replace the people that we arrest with new people who are trying to operate in this scam," Weeden said.
The crime doesn’t affect anyone’s personal bank account, the victim of this crime is the bank. The ATM’s are safe to use even after the compromise.
