Aggressively Exploited ATMs - Financial Institutions Must Enhance Their Security Measures
In the wake of a series of ATM explosions across Germany, Sonja Bongers, the Chairwoman of the SPD city council faction and a member of the North Rhine-Westphalia state parliament, has called for stricter legal measures to prevent such incidents.
Bongers' concerns stem from the increasing number of ATM incidents, with 47 explosions reported in North Rhine-Westphalia alone in 2022, contributing to a total of 493 incidents nationwide. The most recent incident occurred at the Volksbank Rhein-Ruhr in Oberhausen-Osterfeld on Monday night.
The Federal Association of German Criminal Police agrees with Bongers, emphasising the need for legal regulations to guide banks in preventing and handling such incidents. Bongers proposes several measures to enhance ATM security, including expanding video surveillance, using fog systems, reducing cash amounts in vulnerable ATMs at night, and obtaining approval for ATM locations, a common practice in many EU countries.
Currently, banks in Germany are mandated to implement robust physical security measures, such as safes, alarm systems linked to police, fogging systems, and cash dyeing, combined with advanced card security technologies like chip-based cards with 2-factor authentication. They are also required to protect both the cash and users' data, with fraud monitoring and liability protections for unauthorized transactions under €50 when promptly reported.
However, Bongers warns that these measures may not be enough to prevent injuries or deaths that could occur during ATM explosions. She also suggests that the proximity to the Netherlands could be a factor in the high number of ATM explosions in North Rhine-Westphalia, with gangs from the Netherlands often suspected of perpetrating these crimes and then returning to Holland.
The European Central Bank (ECB) supports national legislation to maintain access to cash while modernizing euro banknotes with advanced security features to combat counterfeiting, indirectly supporting overall cash handling security including ATMs. The ECB's stance further emphasises the need for enhanced ATM security measures.
With banks investing heavily in upgrading ATM protections to standardized security levels, aiming to deter criminals by making attacks less profitable, Bongers' proposals could play a crucial role in further improving ATM security and protecting both the public and financial institutions from such incidents.
Sonja Bongers, in her concern for increasing ATM incidents, has proposed measures in general-news that include expanding video surveillance, using fog systems, and reducing cash amounts in vulnerable ATMs at night to enhance ATM security. businesses are currently mandated to implement robust physical security measures, but Bongers warns that these may not be enough to prevent injuries or deaths, suggesting a need for stricter legal measures, even as crime-and-justice gangs from the Netherlands might be involved.
