Card Trapping / Card Theft / Distraction / Card Swapping

Card trapping in Europe continued to be reported in February. In many cases, the type of trap being used can be described as a metal spring trap.

Cash Trapping / Transaction Reversal Fraud / Denomination Fraud

There was a significant increase in reports of cash trapping during February, particularly in the UK and Ireland. In some instances consumers noticed the trap and managed to remove it along with their cash. The Gardai (Irish, police) issued a public warning of the risks to consumers. Denomination fraud was detected in the USA during February.

ATM Skimming / Skimming / EFTPOS Compromise

In Ireland, authorities arrested a Moldovan suspect and seized a significant amount of equipment for ATM skimming and other related ATM and card fraud. An Armenian organized-crime gang was disrupted by a large law-enforcement operation in the USA during February. While ATMs were not used to compromise card data and PINs, they were used for the fraud spend. Police in the UK have issued a warning that transport ticketing machines are being increasingly targeted in skimming attacks. In The Philippines, police arrested 10 Bulgarian nationals suspected of involvement in ATM skimming and fraudulent spend. Sri Lankan authorities issued an arrest warrant via Interpol against a Ukrainian national suspected of involvement in large scale ATM fraudulent spend. In Thailand, two French nationals were arrested on suspicion of hand held skimming at ATMs. Romanian nationals were arrested in the Cayman Islands and accused of ATM skimming and fraudulent spend. Canadian police made significant arrests and disrupted a suspected large scale ATM skimming gang. In Ireland, the Gardai (police) released photographs of an ATM skimming overlay device which closely resembles an anti-skimming device.

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

In Canada, a front-end loader broke down during an attempt to use it to remove a bank's ATM. During the attack, which caused extensive damage to the branch, the front-end loader burst a water-pipe which flooded the engine. Three suspects were charged in Australia after allegedly failing to remove an ATM using straps attached to their vehicle. A shop owner in the USA has offered a reward after repeatedly being targeted by thieves. In the latest incident, the ATM was ripped from the floor. Anti-Ram Raid bollards proved ineffective in another USA attack. While the bollards might have prevented the suspect's truck from ramming the building, straps were used to breach the buildings physical defences and the ATM was manually removed.

Safe Cutting / Safe Breaking / Theft from ATM

Crowbars were insufficient to break into an ATM in the UK during February. A thermal cutting torch was used in the theft of cash from an ATM in Vietnam.

Explosive Attacks

Austria experienced an explosive attack against an ATM in February. In one of many ATM bombings in South Africa during February, a group of heavily armed suspects heldup staff, blew up the ATM and escaped with a significant amount of cash in just under six minutes. Explosive gas was used to blow up an ATM in Croatia. In the USA, a pipe bomb failed to cause significant damage to an ATM.

Quick Search Strings:

Theft of ATMs >                                         Failed Theft of ATMs >

Theft From ATMs >                                   ATM Skimming >

Card Trapping >                                         Leaving Transaction Live >

Advertising Opportunities

If your company supplies products, services and solutions relevant to ATM fraud and security, and you would like to explore the various advertising and marketing opportunities with ATMsecurity.com, please use the 'contact us form' to request further details:

Contact Us >

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.