Annual ATM losses in Europe are approaching EUR 500 million – What should consumers do?

With the annual cost of ATM crime in Europe approaching half a billion Euros, the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA), is advising consumers to be more aware of the risks and take precautions to avoid personal loss. The rapid growth in the number of ATMs, together with more sophisticated attacks and fraud has resulted in an alarming 149% rise in ATM attacks in 2008.

These worrying findings, along with information and case studies highlighting the different ATM crimes and recommendations to help detect and prevent them, have been published in a paper by ENISA entitled ‘ATM Crime: Overview of the European situation and golden rules on how to avoid it’.

The number of ATMs in Europe increased 6% last year to almost 400,000, with many now found in remote site locations such as convenience stores, airports and petrol stations. Seventy-two percent of European ATMs are located in just five countries: UK, Spain, Germany, France and Italy.

Cash taken illegally from ATMs is still the preferred method for criminals who obtain pin numbers using a wide range of techniques from ‘shoulder surfing’ to complex skimming techniques. This can involve the usage of a small spy camera, a false PIN overlay and even fake machines; while increasingly Blue Tooth wireless technology is used to transmit card and PIN details to a nearby laptop computer. During 2008 alone, a total of 10,302 skimming incidents were reported in Europe.
Other methods used to extract money include trapping and then retrieving users’ cards, stopping withdrawals in the middle of a transaction only to complete them when the victim has left and even trapping cash in the machine. Organised criminal gangs are also using sophisticated phishing techniques and hacking into bank computer systems and web sites to obtain PIN and account information.

ATM burglaries and physical attacks have also seen an increase by 32% over the last 12 months from ram raids and explosions to the use of rotary saws, thermal lances and diamond drills.

As part of this process ENISA has drawn up its list of Golden Rules to offer maximum protection with minimum effort. You can download the ENISA report at http://www.enisa.europa.eu/doc/pdf/publications/ATM_crime.pdf