According to a information given by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation the Automated Teller Machine (ATM) around the world are at risk of an imminent cyber attack.

A confidential FBI alert sent to banks stated that the scheme, known as an “ATM cash-out”, could take place in a matter of days.

“The FBI has obtained unspecified reporting indicating cyber criminals are planning to conduct a global ATM cash-out scheme in the coming days, likely associated with an unknown card issuer breach and commonly referred to as an ‘unlimited operation’.”

The ‘unlimited operation’ that the FBI is concerned about is when the cybercriminals deploy malware to obtain bank customer card information and network access in a way to execute massive ATM thefts. The hackers can also have the capability to alter account balances and security measures to make an unlimited amount of money available at the time of the transactions.

The similar fraud operation was carried out in 2009, when around $9 million was cleaned out from cash machines worldwide.

In preparation for the forthcoming attacks, the FBI is now urging banks to review how they handle security, such as implementing two-factor authentication using a physical or digital token when possible for local administrators and business critical roles.

The FBI security experts have also addressed the regular bank costumers, which “should be signed up for fraud alerts on their account, monitor their accounts, looking for any signs of unusual activities, and report any changes immediately to the bank."