Automated teller machines continue to face an evolving mix of schemes to separate users from their money.
Fraud and physical attacks against ATMs rose globally in 2012, according to a survey of 225 respondents worldwide released Thursday by the ATM Industry Association.
According to the survey, the swiping of details embedded in the magnetic stripes of debit and credit cards inserted into ATMs remains the top threat to ATM security, followed by the deployment of devices that trap cash or cards and prevent them from being dispensed to customers. The use of gas and explosives to destroy ATMs has increased in the past six months as well, according to the survey.
Forty-five percent of those surveyed say criminal attacks on ATMs in their country or region rose since the second quarter, while 53% say fraud and attacks on ATMs have added costs to their businesses. Roughly 54% of respondents say they have invested more in security technology compared with six months ago, while 42% report no change in their investment.
"The two biggest threats the ATM industry needs to focus on over the next few months are reducing and preventing cash and card trapping combined with intensifying efforts to combat skimming, including EMV [Europay, MasterCard, Visa] migration and use of anti-skimming technologies," Mike Lee, the association's chief executive, wrote in the Second Global 2012 ATM Fraud Survey. Investment in security solutions has, at last, started to keep pace with the increase in attacks, especially in the second half of 2012, he wrote.
"The security of ATMs is undoubtedly world-class, but we need to stay vigilant to ward off new and emerging threats," Lee added in a news release.
The threat of so-called trapping schemes is primarily a European phenomenon that has yet to migrate to the U.S., according to the association, which said it plans to publish best practices for preventing cash trapping.
