10 ways to protect against the latest ATM attacks
Just when US financial institutions (FI) had figured out what to do about “hook and chain” attacks on ATMs, a new type of physical attack comes along to take its place: malicious or intentional robbery during a service call. In this scenario, the criminals cause minor damage to an ATM—not enough to prompt a police response, but enough to prompt a service call. A technician is then called, opens the ATM and is ambushed and robbed by the criminals.
This crime strategy, which seems to have begun with organized crime rings in Texas, has now shifted its focus to other states. It also takes ATM crime to a new level: from simple theft to robbery by force or intimidation, because it happens face-to-face.
Understanding the nature of this security threat
We’ve noticed patterns that are already helping increase our ability to prevent these kinds of robberies—because, of course, stopping the assailant from committing the robbery in the first place is the best solution. Understanding the trend data gives us the insight we need to make these targets more difficult ones, so they’re less attractive to robbers.
The data shows that these robberies typically happen in the middle of the day in low-crime neighborhoods, though we’re still seeing some nighttime attacks in high-risk areas. Surveillance footage has shown that multiple assailants often arrive in a vehicle, usually displaying temporary tags.
One way to get in front of this is to analyze the service requests that come in. By spotting the crime signature, we can keep a high-risk service request from becoming a robbery. We send a guard if our diagnostics and status codes identify a high-risk situation. Our systems rank risks assessments as high-, medium- or normal-risk and trigger protocols based on those rankings. This helps reduce the risk of a robbery.
When an ATM seems to have been deliberately damaged, flag it as suspicious when requesting a service call. By spotting the crime signature, we can keep a high-risk service request from becoming a robbery.
When an ATM seems to have been deliberately damaged, flag it as suspicious when requesting a service call, call your supervisor or law enforcement and, if possible, make sure a security guard is present when the ATM is opened.
10 ways to reduce the risks of ATM robberies
There are several measures FIs can implement to reduce the risk of these types of attacks, including:
- Partnering with your ATM service provider on options they offer to maximize physical security at ATMs. You should be able to count on your service provider to collect and analyze the data on patterns of attack at your locations and collaborate with you to help deter robberies.
- Proactively building relationships with law enforcement so you know exactly what to do in the event of a robbery. This is more effective ahead of time than on the spot. Ask your local police or sheriff to visit and advise you; most consider this part of promoting community crime awareness. They’ll escalate to the FBI as appropriate.
- Making sure your alarm systems, adequate lighting and security cameras are up and working. Security equipment can be worthless if it isn’t fully operational. If there’s a robbery, it will help you contact law enforcement officials promptly and give them the tools they need to identify and arrest the perpetrators.
- Consider assigning a branch guard to observe ATM service calls. Ask your ATM service provider to check in with the branch manager before opening the ATM. If a guard is on duty, ask them to be present during the service call.
- Scheduling ATM service calls during business hours—especially in high-crime areas. No one wants ATM downtime. We all know that expanding access to self-service banking is essential to customer satisfaction. On the other hand, an 8 a.m. service call is generally safer than one at night in the dark.
- Including ATM security in your crisis planning. You probably have a crisis plan in place in the event of an on-site injury: directions to the nearest hospital, who to contact, etc. Make sure your plan also includes what to do in the event of an ATM robbery (or any other robbery): numbers to call, protocols to use, etc.
- Analyzing and adjusting cash utilization. By minimizing the amount of cash held in ATMs to meet but not exceed demand, you can reduce the potential losses in case of a robbery.
- Knowing what your insurance covers and making sure you have the policy that’s right for you. You’ll want to review your policies carefully to be sure what’s covered. Coverages can vary significantly and should be evaluated periodically. And even at its best, insurance rarely completely covers all known robbery impacts.
- Increasing awareness to promote safety. Make your employees aware of who we’re dealing with for their own safety: we believe that while about a third of these are small-time criminals who see an opportunity, the rest are sophisticated interstate organizations.
- Advocating to make ATM robbery a federal crime. Currently, only crimes against on-premises bank ATMs are punishable by federal law. Criminals know this and, as a result, more frequently target ATMs located away from bank branches. NCR Atleos and many of our industry partners have advocated for Congress to pass The Safe Access to Cash Act (previous version of the bill), which was reintroduced in the US House of Representatives for the 199th Congress in late February 2025. Ask your congressional representative to support this important legislation.*
Getting out in front of what’s next
Every time our industry figures out a way to combat the latest form of physical attacks on ATMs, the criminals move on to a new approach. Whether future tactics include minor vandalism or attempted destruction of the ATM, we believe a proactive approach is most effective. This means developing the strongest physical technology and manufacturing methods, as well as employing advanced technical and analytic approaches to spot likely targets well before a robbery attempt occurs. It will pay dividends in the long run to investigate the next level of safe hardware when you next evaluate hardware upgrades.
*For information on more ways you can support passage of the Safe Access to Cash Act, contact us.
