FBI warns banks of worldwide ATM hack threat

The FBI is warning banks about a potential hacking scheme in which cybercriminals may try to steal cash from ATMs around the world.

According to the popular cyber security blog "Krebs on Security," hackers can get inside a bank or payment card processor and take large amounts of cash with stolen information. The threat, which is called an "ATM cash-out," is apparently worldwide.

According to Krebs, the FBI sent a confidential alert that said: "The FBI has obtained unspecified reporting indicating criminals are planning to conduct a global Automated Teller Machine (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 FBI confirmed to ABC News that it did indeed send a notice to certain banks last week warning them that cybercriminals may try to launch a massive operation to steal money from ATMs.

The FBI released the following statement to ABC News:

"In furtherance of public-private partnerships, the FBI routinely advises private industry of various cyber threat indicators observed during the course of our investigations. This data is provided in order to help systems administrators guard against the actions of persistent cybercriminals. We don't have any further comment."