Card Trapping / Cash Trapping / Stuck Key Fraud / Leaving Transaction Live

Europe continued to experience a large number of cash trapping and card trapping incidents during December. A UK judge accused a suspect from Romania, who admitted cash trapping, of tarnishing the name his compatriots.

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

Transaction reversal fraud was detected in the UK during December. In the US, 94 suspects were arrested on suspicion of check (cheque) fraud and related funds transfer fraud.

ATM Skimming / Skimming / EFTPOS Compromise

A US supermarket identified skimming devices on 20 compromised self-checkout terminals in December. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that industry initiatives including the migration to chip and PIN reduced ATM fraud by 99%. ATM skimming globally continued to be significant in most countries. Police in Switzerland disrupted an ATM skimming gang originally from Romania and Moldova. Banks in India advised customers to change their PIN numbers following large scale card compromise, including ATM skimming attacks. Police in Turkey arrested 10 Bulgarian nationals suspected of involvement in ATM skimming. The US Director of the FBI visited Romania in December and highlighted the successes in cooperation between US and Romanian law enforcement agencies. An alert CCTV operator in the UK alerted police to two Romanian nationals using re-encoded cards to withdraw funds from accounts compromised in South Africa and Ukraine.

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

A failed theft of an ATM using a pick-up truck to ram raid a convenience store was recorded on CCTV in the US. The suspects first had difficulty driving the truck into the store and then failed to dislodge the ATM from its anchoring. While the theft failed, the collateral damage and subsequent disruption to business for the convenience store demonstrated the consequences of such attacks. In another US incident, two suspects were arrested and a further two identified after recording themselves on a stolen cell phone discussing the thefts of ATMs. An ATM was stolen in Turkey from a location with dysfunctional CCTV. Police in New Zealand pursued and arrested a suspect who had driven a four wheeled drive vehicle into an ATM. In Australia, an ATM was dragged from a shopping centre and cash subsequently stolen. A forklift truck was used in a failed attack in the UK during December.

Safe Cutting / Safe Breaking / Theft from ATM

An alert security guard in India prevented a suspect from cutting into an ATM. A suspect arrested in the US after failing to gain access to an ATM using a crowbar asked police to return the crowbar. A suspect in Canada was apprehended after his getaway vehicle got stuck in a car park. CCTV had observed the suspect attacking an ATM.

Explosive Attacks

ATM bombings continued in South Africa during December. One suspect was shot dead by police during a fire fight. In a separate incident a shop keeper was severely injured following an ATM bombing that failed to access the ATM. An explosive attack in Australia also failed to gain access to the cash in an ATM.

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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.