ATM Skimming / Skimming / EFTPOS Compromise

ATM skimming continued to dominate reports during May in most regions. A Bulgarian national was sentenced to three years prison in the US for attaching ATM skimming devices and cameras to ATMs. In a separate incident, a Russian immigrant received a four year sentence in the US. Police in Kenya issued a general warning about skimming, including ATM skimming following a number of incidents. Police in Canada made 46 arrests of individuals believed to be involved in well organized ATM fraud. The fraudulent spend was very coordinated with simultaneous withdrawals made using compromised cards at multiple ATMs. The cards were compromised using modified POS terminals and ATM skimming. In New Zealand, cards compromised at ATMs resulted in fraudulent spend of approximately NZ$1m withdrawn in eight different countries.

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

Card trapping and cash trapping in Europe remained at a significant level in May but appeared to reduce in some countries. Inspection of ATMs following reports of cash trapping often identified residual traces of adhesive in the area of the cash slot. In the UK, local residents took it upon themselves to post a warning notice at an ATM targeted for cash trapping.

Transaction Reversal Fraud / Cheque Fraud / Denomination Fraud / Funds Transfer

Transaction reversal fraud was reported in Europe in May. Fake deposit / cheque fraud was reported in the US during May. Institutions which allow ATM withdrawals prior to funds fully clearing were targeted.

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

In the UK, a financial services store was almost completely destroyed during the theft of an ATM using a forklift truck. Diggers were also used in the UK in May to attack bank branch ATMs. In the US, thefts of ATMs were frequently reported. However, accurate statistics do not appear to exist for the whole country. The FBI do track thefts of ATMs from banks but not necessarily those stolen from convenience stores while local police departments do not always record ATM thefts as a unique crime type. A suspect dressed in a police uniform attempted to remove an ATM in Canada but was subsequently arrested. An ATM was stolen from a bank in India which had neither CCTV nor guards. An ATM was stolen from a restaurant in Australia.

Safe Cutting / Safe Breaking / Theft from ATM

Guards in Malaysia failed to take action when an alarm was triggered during an attempted theft from an ATM in a supermarket. Apparently the alarm frequently activated due to a fault but in this instance was triggered by an attack.  A suspect employed to replenish cash was arrested in India. While dual control procedures were in place, the suspect had observed the unlock code of the custodian and returned to the ATM when no guard was on duty. CCTV was used to identify the suspect. In the US, a suspect failed to access an ATM security enclosure using a screw driver.

Explosive Attacks

Explosive attacks continued in South Africa during May.

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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, on how to manage ATM and self-service terminal fraud and security threats.