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Spelling Mistake Stops Hacker Getting $1.5 Billion

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A spelling mistake in an online bank transfer instruction helped prevent a nearly $US1 billion ($NZD1.5 billion) heist last month involving the Bangladesh central bank and the New York Federal Reserve.

Unknown hackers still managed to get away with about $US80 million ($NZ118 million), one of the largest known bank thefts in history.

Four transfers for a total of about $US81 million went through. But a fifth, for $US20 million, to a Sri Lankan non-profit organisation was held up because the hackers misspelled the name of the organisation, Shalika Foundation.

Hackers misspelled “foundation” calling it “fandation”, prompting an alert, which stopped the transaction.

Subsequent transactions that were stopped totalled $US850-$US870 million, one of the officials said.

Bangladesh Bank has said it has recovered some of the money that was stolen, and is working with anti-money laundering authorities in the Philippines to try to recover the rest.

Last year, Russian computer security company Kaspersky Lab said a multinational gang of cyber criminals had stolen as much as $US1 billion from as many as 100 financial institutions around the world in about two years.

44 Responses

  1. To be honest i can’t believe the hackers never knew how to spell foundation i mean did they skip spelling class when they were kids?

  2. SOMEONE IN MY CLASS IS A HACKER HE HACKED INTO SOMEBODY ELSES COMPUTER SYSTEM ONCE! BUT THIS HACKER MUST BE S-T-U-P-I-D!

  3. All I can say is that those hackers must have definitely skipped spelling tests on Fridays. I mean my 7 year old cousin could spell that! and if you tell me the hackers are 6 then wow I take back what I said.

  4. I never had spelling class when I was at school but at least I can still spell foundation

  5. A hacker couldn’t spell foundation?……………..HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA that is so hilarious.

  6. Haha that’s quite funny misspelling foundation doing that makes spelling pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis

  7. LOLOLOL! hahahahahahahahahah! that is hilarious even I wouldn’t make that mistake

  8. wow that is lot of money I so wont to catch that theft and what country is it if it is in new Zealand that will be bad and the other country’s is bad.

  9. this is terrible hackers should be caught and not allowed to steal this much money!!! i am glad they didnt get away with this!!!!
    #stopahckerssteallinglotsofmoney!!!

  10. That’s a lot of money ? If that was me i think I might of been spending it right now ?

  11. I know how to hack but not banks I know cheats and glitches and don call police on me I don know how to hack well

  12. I know how to hack well not t banks I well I know glitches and cheats don cul police on me I don know how to hack well

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