Europol's European Cybercrime Centre

Romanian authorities have cracked down on a criminal group responsible for attacks on ATMs across Europe through the use of malicious software.

The operation, one of the first in Europe against this type of cybercrime, was conducted in Romania and Moldova by Romanian law enforcement authorities with assistance from Europol and Eurojust, Europol said in a press release on Thursday.

Europol has dismantled a group of cybercriminals active in Italy, Spain, Poland, the UK, Belgium and Georgia.

The members of the group are suspected of committing financial fraud involving email account intrusions, the European Union's law enforcement agency said in a statement on Wednesday.

Bulgaria and Spain, in cooperation with Europol, have dismantled a significant Bulgarian organised payment crime network.

The crime ring is suspected of a variety of crimes including large scale ATM skimming, electronic payment fraud and forgery of documents, Europol said in a statement.