'The new bank robbery': ATM jackpotting on the rise

'The new bank robbery': ATM jackpotting on the rise Advertisement Updated: 6:36 PM CST Nov 12, 2026 Editorial Standards ⓘ James Stratton Reporter 'The new bank robbery': ATM jackpotting on the rise Updated: 6:36 PM CST Nov 12, 2026 Editorial Standards ⓘ James Stratton Reporter Glendale & Greenfield, Wis — Investigators call it a new way to rob a bank; thieves target ATMs and get the machines to spit out hundreds of thousands of dollars, tricking them into giving them cash. Video 12 News Investigates obtained shows men pulling up to ATMs at two different banks, one in Greenfield and another in Glendale, in March. Video shows them using a key to get inside the ATM. Once they come back later, it spits out cash. Advertisement Investigators named it ATM jackpotting, because when it's successful, it is referred to by criminals as "hitting the jackpot." Search warrants and a police report show the thieves got away with roughly $230,000 from ATMs at the U.S. Bank location on 27th Street in Greenfield on March 11 and 12. Search warrants show thieves came back 13 times in a six-hour span, and video shows them taking stacks of cash from the ATM. In each video, a driver sits in the front seat while a man in the back seat, who appears to be on FaceTime, works with the ATM. Thieves also got away with roughly $110,000 from ATMs at the UW Credit Union on North Port Washington Road in Glendale on March 4 and 5. Search warrants show the pair showed up six different times in a three-hour span. In Glendale, video shows one of the suspects taking a selfie and fanning out the cash. Glendale police tell WISN 12 News they're working to figure out if the crimes are connected and who the suspects are. Greenfield police say they closed their case because they don't have any leads on the case. Hearst Owned Suspects in two ATM jackpotting incidents in Glendale and Greenfield in March. "Think of this as the new bank robbery, without the force of violence of a bank robbery," said FBI Milwaukee Special Agent in Charge Alan Karr. Karr couldn't speak on the two cases directly, but did share information about ATM jackpotting. The FBI warned banks and the public about ATM Jackpotting earlier this year. FBI numbers show banks have reported 1,900 jackpotting incidents since 2020 across the United States. In 2025 alone, 700 incidents resulted in banks losing more than $20 million. "Generally, these jackpot cases are done by crews in which people case an ATM; they are looking at the ATM to see what vulnerabilities they can exploit," Karr said. "'Hey, what's the security measures around this ATM? Are there cameras? Can we get into this ATM? Do we have a key to get into it to access the hard drive?' Then, someone will come back and collect the cash." Karr said once thieves find their target, they use a key to open the front compartment of the ATM. Then, they connect a hard drive with malware, or their own computers, and hack the machine to give away cash. "We always encourage the banks to take common-sense approaches and measures, updating software to overcome vulnerabilities, increasing the physical protections of ATMs, cameras in the area," Karr said. A search warrant shows Glendale police believe one of the suspects may be from Chicago. WISN 12 News is not naming him because he's not charged with a crime. "UW Credit Union is aware of the March 4 criminal activity involving one of our Glendale ATMs," said Carma Atkinson, vice president of card programs and loss prevention at UW Credit Union, in an emailed statement to WISN 12 News. "We can confirm that member accounts and funds were not impacted. Protecting our members and the security of our operations are top priorities." U.S. Bank told WISN 12 News none of the cash was taken from customer's accounts. Make WISN a preferred source on Google Add Preferred Source Share Infinite Scroll Enabled Top Picks Anthony Clark, a comedian and actor who starred on 'Yes, Dear,' dies WATCH: Baby bear captured on Ring camera 'ding-dong ditching' home at 2 a.m. Teen who has autism found alive after missing for nearly a week in the Australian woodlands Microsoft confirms Outlook outage affecting users worldwide