Cash Trapping / Card Trapping / Card Swapping / Leaving Transaction Live

Police in the UK issued a warning to the public following a large increase in internal cash trapping known as Cash Claw fraud. Cash Claws are normally inserted into the ATM presenter after the perpetrators perform a genuine transaction to open the shutter. Most incidents of cash claw fraud are currently perpetrated in Europe and are linked to criminals of Romanian nationality. Consumers are unlikely to notice anything unusual until they do not receive their cash. Five suspects were sentenced to prison in the UK for cash claw fraud in November. Card trapping was also prevalent in Europe during November. Leaving transaction live fraud was reported in the US. Card swapping incidents were reported in India during November.

ATM Skimming / Skimming / EFTPOS Compromise

ATM skimming was widespread during November with an apparent increase in US incidents. Various ATM types and locations were targeted, including at hospitals, A Romanian national was sentenced to three and a half years prison in the US. He was charged with aggravated identity theft, possession of an ATM skimming device and pin-hole cameras. In the UK a Romanian national was found guilty of ATM fraud. 9,000 cards and PINs were identified on his computer with the potential to have stolen an estimated £3.25 million. The suspect was arrested while retrieving a skimming device from an ATM. ATM skimming in Tanzania was attributed to Eastern European crime gangs in November. Police in Australia recovered ATM skimming devices and spy cameras. Canadian police also seized ATM skimming devices and made arrests in November. The suspects had perpetrated fraud spend at ATMs which were not EMV Chip enabled. Bulgarian customs officers seized a shipment of ATM skimming devices destined for Paraguay. Two Bulgarian nationals were arrested in Thailand while perpetrating fraud spend at ATMs. Two Romanian nationals were arrested in Sri Lanka and linked to ATM skimming in the country. ATM skimming was also reported in Hong Kong during November.

Ram Raid Attacks / Theft of ATM / Smash-and-Grab

An ATM was stolen from a retail centre in Indonesia. In the US chains were used to pull out ATMs from convenience stores causing significant collateral damage to premises. The FBI in the US arrested several suspects who had managed to pull over a drive-up ATM using a tow truck and chain. In another US incident, armed suspects manually removed an ATM from a store, the ATM was recovered with the cash intact a short distance away. Another manual removal involved a suspect hiding in a bar until staff closed up for the evening then letting in accomplices who were able to rock the ATM from its mountings and remove it. In Australia, a suspect was arrested following a ram raid which involved an ATM being dragged for two miles behind a utility vehicle. In another incident in Australia, a 4WD vehicle was used to ram the door of a bowling club, push over and steal an ATM.

Safe Cutting / Safe Breaking / Theft from ATM

Security guards in Australia prevented the theft from an ATM. The suspects had broken into adjoining premises to a bank which allowed access to the rear of the bank's ATM. In the US, a blow torch was used in a failed attempt to cut open an ATM. In another US incident, a suspect was identified because the truck used in an incident had unique characteristics which were captured on CCTV.A suspect in India managed to escape from police who had noticed that the position of an ATM door had changed since a previous patrol. The suspect had overcome and tied up the security guard and had been attempting to open the ATM when police investigated. Police in Malaysia have identified three distinct groups of criminals involved in theft from ATMs. One local Malay group, one from Vietnam and another from Latin America are suspected of a number of thefts. In the UK, a cutting torch was used to attack an ATM but the security enclosure proved too difficult to fully open. Canadian police have attributed the theft of $700,000 to two suspects who have used crowbars and cutting torches in the theft from a number of ATMs over a 15 month period. CCTV shows they are able to commit the attacks in less than 60 seconds.

Explosive Attacks

Explosive attacks continued to be reported in South Africa during November.

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The above digest is provided by DFR Risk Management, who provide consultancy services advising ATM and self-service terminal deployers and manufacturers, as well as law-enforcement agencies,onhow to manage ATM and self-service terminal fraud and security threats.