Groups Call for Tougher Punishment for ATM Crimes

Two ATM industry groups are calling for stiffer sentences for ATM crimes after a joint survey found that well over half of the respondents have experienced a year-over-year increase in ATM fraud.

In a recent position paper, the ATM Industry Association and the ATM Security Association said law enforcement agencies and court systems aren’t taking ATM offenses as seriously as they should.

“ATM crime can often be perpetrated by Organized Crime Groups (OCGs) operating across borders, for example in the cases of ATM card skimming happening across country borders,” the groups stated. “This is well-known by such bodies as the European Crime Prevention Network (EUCPN) and Europol. But when law enforcement and the courts do not give these ATM offences the serious attention they deserve, OCGs will see this as ‘easy money’ for them. Given that ATM networks are part of a country’s fundamental infrastructure, vital to the functioning of any modern economy, ATMIA and the ATM Security Association believe that comparatively tougher sentences are required in most countries across the world for convictions in the cases of ATM crimes.”

The trade associations also said that in their annual fraud survey, just over 59% of respondents reported year-over-year increases in ATM fraud. It also said that more than 1,000 explosive attacks on ATMs were reported per year in 2017 and 2018 in Europe alone.

“ATM networks in consumer economies across the world should be viewed as part of a country’s fundamental infrastructure and sentences for ATM crimes should be seen in this light as highly disruptive to the economy and to the daily lives of citizens,” they said.

Earlier this year, ATMIA also reported that more than two-thirds (67.35%) of its survey respondents had experienced ATM thefts using vehicles in the previous 12 months, and over half (57%) had experienced ATM theft via other means.

The study also found that 86% of respondents experienced ATM data fraud in the last 12 months, 96% experienced physical fraud and 79% experienced cyber fraud.

Also earlier this year, privately held ATM processing and management company Payment Alliance International announced it was collaborating with the U.S. Secret Service and local law enforcement agencies to stop so-called man-in-the-middle attacks against ATMs. The Louisville, Ky.-based company said it planned to use proprietary real-time reporting software to alert the agencies of potential attacks in progress so that they can catch criminals in the act.

In August 2018, the Federal Bureau of Investigation warned U.S. lenders of new jackpotting threats involving malware that instructs ATMs to release all their cash.

On January 14, 2020, Microsoft will stop providing technical assistance and security updates for Windows 7, which still powers some ATM systems. Credit union ATMs that aren’t running Windows 10 by then could become more vulnerable to hackers and malware, experts have warned.