Authorities are on the hunt for a group of suspects who reportedly made off with $175,000 in cash from a Virginia ATM. This incident is part of a growing crime trend known as “jackpotting.”

The Fairfax County Police Department (FCPD) explains that jackpotting involves a cyber-physical attack where criminals install malware or a “black box” device inside an ATM. This allows them to control the machine either physically or remotely, bypassing security measures to trigger the ATM to dispense large sums of money.

This particular crime spree began on October 3rd. An unidentified man approached an Apple Federal Credit Union drive-thru ATM in Fair Oaks, a suburb of Fairfax, at approximately 10:20 p.m. According to an FCPD statement, the suspect accessed the ATM with a key, though the specific actions taken after opening the machine remain unclear.

The police are seeking assistance from the public to identify the alleged thieves involved in this “jackpotting” incident at the Apple Federal Credit Union ATM in Fairfax, Virginia, which took place last month.

At around 12:30 a.m. the next day, the same man reportedly returned to the ATM, this time driving a blue Jeep, and accessed the machine once more, as reported by the police.

Surveillance video captured the suspect returning to the ATM just 45 minutes later in the same vehicle, but with a second individual, police said. The pair spent about 15 minutes accessing the machine as they filmed their actions on their phones, according to police.

By 2 a.m., an unmasked suspect driving the same Jeep arrived at the ATM and began withdrawing cash without inserting a card or touching the machine, all while holding his phone near the device, according to authorities. 

The thieves allegedly walked away with $175,000 in cash after police say they targeted an ATM at an Apple Federal Credit Union bank in Fairfax, Virginia, last month. (Fairfax County Police Department)

The individual briefly left, but returned nine minutes later and stayed until 2:44 a.m. as withdrawals continued, police said.

The Fairfax County Police Department is now asking for the public’s help in identifying the suspects, who allegedly made off with $175,000 in cash from the ATM. 

The incident is not the first to make national headlines in recent years. 

“Jackpotting” is described as a cyber-physical crime in which thieves access an ATM using malware or a physical “black box” to withdraw large sums of cash.  (iStock)

In 2024, six Venezuelan nationals were indicted in federal court after prosecutors say they stole over $400,000 in cash from four separate ATMs throughout New York, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of New York.

Similarly, authorities in Georgia asked for the public’s help as they searched for two suspects wanted in connection with a jackpotting scheme targeting two standalone ATMs at separate gas stations last year. The suspects allegedly made off with thousands of dollars in profits after using malware to trick the machine’s security system, FOX 5 reported. 

The Fairfax County Police Department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.