Gang used ATM 'blood suckers' to steal, Brazil police say

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) -- Police arrested 24 people across Brazil and were searching for one more Thursday in a crackdown on a gang that implanted devices in ATMs that recorded banking data, allowing the gang to defraud customers out of millions of dollars.

Gang members got access to the banking data with the help of automatic teller machine maintenance workers who installed devices known as "blood suckers." The devices record account information and passwords from people using the machines, federal police said in a statement.

Police had been investigating the gang since 2004 and said the group had diverted some $10 million out of customers' bank accounts.

Those arrested included the gang's three alleged masterminds, as well as engineers who manufactured the devices and workers at ATM maintenance companies. E-mail to a friend

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

All About Brazil