Royal Bank of Scotland’s Worldpay hit by ATM scam
Hackers break into US payment processing systems and target cash machines around the world - could this happen over here?

The Royal Bank of Scotland Group's RBS Worldpay has fallen victim to a hack reported to have netted $9 million (6.1 million) in a worldwide automated teller machine (ATM) scam.
RBS Worldpay said it was hacked just before Christmas of last year. US reports, citing the FBI, suggested that before the payment processor found out, millions of dollars were taken from ATMs around the world using cloned cards.
Thousands of businesses around the world use RBS Worldpay, which allows them to take payments over the internet, phone, fax and mail.
RBS Worldpay is used in the UK, but fortunately British customers were not affected. The US business of RBS Worldpay operates on a platform independent of other Royal Bank of Scotland acquiring businesses.
The FBI told Fox 5 in the US that ATMs from 49 cities were hit, which included Atlanta, New York, Montreal, Moscow and Hong Kong. At the time, RBS Worldpay admitted that the information of 1.5 million cardholders and other individuals could have been affected.
This is the latest card payment breach to hit millions of customers. Last month, around 100 million transactions could have been exposed thanks to malware found on Heartland Payment System's computer network.
Get the ITPro daily newsletter
Sign up today and you will receive a free copy of our Future Focus 2025 report - the leading guidance on AI, cybersecurity and other IT challenges as per 700+ senior executives
-
RSAC Conference 2025: The front line of cyber innovation
ITPro Podcast Ransomware, quantum computing, and an unsurprising focus on AI were highlights of this year's event
-
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei thinks we're burying our heads in the sand on AI job losses
News With AI set to hit entry-level jobs especially, some industry execs say clear warning signs are being ignored