Security News > 2020 > December > Cybercriminals Steal Millions by Spoofing Thousands of Mobile Devices
A group of cybercriminals used mobile emulators to spoof thousands of mobile devices , which enabled them to steal millions of dollars within days.
Targeting financial institutions in Europe and the United States, the mobile banking fraud operation relied on over 20 emulators to spoof more than 16,000 mobile devices and access compromised accounts.
Mobile device identifiers were used to spoof the devices of the account holders, but in some cases the attackers set up new identifiers, to make it seem as if the user was accessing the account from a new device.
Using the network of thousands of spoofed devices, the crooks repeatedly accessed the accounts of thousands of people, eventually stealing millions of dollars within days, per attack.
Devices successfully used for fraudulent transfers were recycled and replaced with unused devices.