Criminals find ATMs a blast

By Leon Engelbrecht, ITWeb senior writer

Johannesburg, 22 May 2008

Armed robbers have blown up 29 automatic teller machines (ATMs) so far this month, says the SA Banking Risk Intelligence Centre (Sabric), taking the total for the year to 226.

Absa Group Security GM Mariette Barends says the majority of bombings - aimed at giving robbers access to the cash contained in the ATM targeted - takes place between midnight and 4am, often in isolated areas.

Institute for Security Studies policing senior researcher Johan Burger says armed robbers are targeting ATMs in response to banks stepping up the security of their premises and cash-in-transit (CIT) vehicles.

Most bank branches now have strict IT-enabled access control and off-site CCTV monitoring, while CIT vehicles are now better armed and more crash-resistant and are also under real-time remote surveillance, using GPS tracking and CCTV.

Burger, therefore, expects the number of attacks on SA's 15 000 ATMs to quadruple this year over last year's Sabric figure of 387. By contrast, 54 ATMs were bombed in 2006 and five in 2004.

The damage explosives cause to an ATM is severe, says Barends, although ex-First National Bank ATM CEO Mike Arnold says ATM bombers are generally not successful in gaining access to the cash.

Barends says, depending on the severity of the damage, the harmed device will either be repaired on site, or be removed and replaced by a new ATM. "In some instances, the damage may be repairable and the ATM will be completely refurbished and then installed at another site."

Action taken

The banks are taking counter-measures to protect their ATMs, but most are reluctant to quantify what they are doing.

FNB is spending R22 million this year, in addition to a similar amount last year and more next year. The money - R66 million over three years - is paying for real-time ATM surveillance, with 500 ATMs per year being linked to the project "to cover the bank's entire ATM site base". Other than seeking out bombers, the cameras would also watch for card skimming, armed robberies and card swapping.

Absa wants the public to help as well and Barends called on everyone to lend a hand in the fight against ATM bombings. "In as much as these ATMs belong to Absa, they also belong to and are there for the benefit of the people."

She adds that the banks are working with the police and the mining industry to curb the bombings, arrest the culprits and cut off their supply of explosives.

Standard Bank spokesman Ross Linstrom says his bank is "watching and monitoring the situation closely" and has had a "lot of success with countering ATM vandalism". He adds the bank has taken steps to protect its ATMs from bombings, but did not want to say what these measures were or whether they involved third parties.

George Chirwa, Nedbank's head of ATM services, says "we are taking a number of measures to mitigate and combat the bombings across our existing and new ATMs", but declined to elaborate.