Three net-savvy tech-Texans have been arrested for allegedly (read: being caught in the act) using a Raspberry Pi to steal thousands of dollars from ATMs in the city of Lubbock.
Per local news outlet EverythingLubbock (via Tom’s Hardware), their spree of ill-gotten gains (thousands of dollars taken from machines in West Texas) came to an end after officers apprehended them in a hotel room containing several Raspberry Pis.
And if you’re wondering whether this is just an execrable Adam Sandler film about three hapless computer programmers in the wrong time, well, it isn’t. Our heroes have been charged with Unlawful Interception, Use, or Disclosure of Wire, Oral or Electric Communications, as well as, simply, Engaging in Criminal Activity – which is an incredible law to have.
When the Raspberry Pi’s involved in a bank heist, that’s larceny (amore)
The relative novelty of this case means that you have incredulous local news reporting it as though the Raspberry Pi is some Dr. Claw invention, but it’s unclear as to just how the defendants pulled this off with everyone’s favourite dinky computer-ma-bob. We doubt you’ll find the software on Github, though.
That’s all the news that’s fit to print, given that, because the case is in the US – a fine, upstanding capitalist democracy: the best – the municipal court documents have been thrown behind a paywall. Look, it’s a slow news day, but not that slow.
Our sister site Tom’s Hardware has forked out, but haven’t gleamed much: not even the 5-0 know how the thefts were possible. However, the records confirm that the defendants really were witnessed stealing $5700 USD from a single ATM, so they’re hardly Q-Branch material.